Ministry Announces 3 New MERS Infections

RASHID HASSAN

RIYADH: The Ministry of Health confirmed three new cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-coronavirus) with two infection cases in the capital and one in Dawadmy, a town in Riyadh province.

A ministry official said on Monday that the new cases recorded include a 74-year-old Saudi woman in Dawadmy and a 24-year-old male expat in Riyadh and the condition of these two patients is stated to be critical and under constant review of the doctors, while the third patient, a 67-year-old Saudi in Riyadh, is in stable condition.

With the new cases, the total number of cases in the Kingdom since the outbreak in June 2012 has risen to 1,418, which include 599 deaths.

A total of 17 patients are currently undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom while 802 patients recovered, so far, from the infection.

The Command and Control Center (CCC), the disease-fighting body of the ministry, is carrying out epidemiological surveillance tasks to make sure that all governmental and private health facilities are applying infection control measures and coordinating with the relevant agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently commended the efforts of the ministry in containing the disease in the Kingdom.

As camels are stated to be the probable reason of infection due to high rate of consumption of camel meat during Ramadan, it is advised to take precautions and practice general hygiene measures.

(Source: ArabNews.com)