WHO Update: Two Italy MERS cases reclassified as ‘probable’, drops global total to 130
The World Health Organization (WHO) has changed the status of two Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases from Italy from confirmed to probable after further analysis of the laboratory tests performed in May 2013, which has shown that the two cases do not fulfill the current WHO case definition for a “confirmed case” for MERS-CoV.
Image/CIA
The two cases from early June 2013 are a two-year-old girl and a 42-year-old woman who were identified as close contacts of the index case who traveled from Jordan.
According to the WHO, a “probable” designation by WHO criteria refers to patients who are considered to have a high likelihood of having been infected with MERS-CoV, but from whom adequate samples could not be obtained for complete testing according to the current criteria established for laboratory confirmation.
This information changes the global total of MERS cases reported yesterday from 132 to 130. The total number deaths attributed to the viral disease remains at 58.
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