MERS coronavirus cases top 200 globally, more than 15,000 confirmed/suspected chikungunya cases in the Caribbean
The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) has updated the numbers in some of the most significant outbreaks across the globe today in it’s Communicable Threats Report.
Image/Maureen Metcalfe; Azaibi Tamin
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak has topped 200 cases as of Mar. 20.
The latest from the ECDC shows 201 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-CoV, which includes 85 deaths (CFR 42%).
The breakdown by country is as follows:
Saudi Arabia: 159 cases / 64 deaths
United Arab Emirates: 15 cases / 5 deaths
Qatar: 7 cases / 4 deaths
Jordan: 3 cases / 3 deaths
Oman: 2 cases / 2 deaths
Kuwait: 3 cases / 1 death
UK: 4 cases / 3 deaths
Germany: 2 cases / 1 death
France: 2 cases / 1 death
Italy: 1 case / 0 death
Tunisia: 3 cases / 1 death
The chikungunya outbreak in the Caribbean, which began in early Dec. 2013, has grown to more than 15,000 confirmed and suspected cases, 2,869 and 13,044, respectively. Five deaths have been reported.
- Virgin Islands (UK), 7 confirmed cases;
- Saint Martin (FR), 2 640 suspected and 782 confirmed or probable cases, 3 deaths;
- Sint Maarten (NL), 115 confirmed autochthonous cases;
- Martinique, 7 630 suspected and 1 141 confirmed or probable cases, 2 deaths;
- Saint Barthélemy, 420 suspected and 134 confirmed or probable cases;Guadeloupe, 1 960 suspected and 586 confirmed or probable cases;
- Dominica, 56 confirmed cases and 394 suspected cases;
- French Guiana, 22 confirmed autochthonous cases and 10 imported cases;
- Anguilla, 14 confirmed cases on the island with one case probably originating from Saint Martin;
- Aruba, one imported case originating from Sint Maarten;
- St. Kitts and Nevis, one confirmed case.
The number of human H7N9 avian influenza cases in China nears 400, according to the ECDC data.
As of 20 March 2014, there have been 394 laboratory-confirmed cases: Zhejiang (138), Guangdong (92), Shanghai (42), Jiangsu (42), Fujian (21), Hunan (18), Anhui (10), Jiangxi (5), Henan (4), Beijing (4), Guangxi (4), Shandong (2), Hebei (1), Guizhou (1), Jilin (1), Hong Kong (6), Taiwan (2) and one case reported in Malaysia imported from China.
Of the 394 cases, 121 ended in death (CFR 31%).
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