MERS Death Toll Reaches 115 in Saudi

The death toll from the MERS coronavirus has reached 115 since the respiratory disease first appeared in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012, Saudi health authorities announced Monday.

Three people died on Saturday after contracting MERS in the commercial capital Jeddah -- a 45-year-old man and two women, aged 50 and 54, the health ministry said on its website.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) - Causes Symptoms Treatment Prevention
MERS, a newly discovered respiratory disease, was recently reported in the Arabian region. MERS is caused by a virus similar to that causing common cold and other respiratory illnesses.

It said a 77-year-old man had also died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Riyadh on Friday.

The country's number of MERS infections has meanwhile risen to 414, the world's highest tally, the ministry reported.

American health officials on Friday confirmed the first case of MERS in the United States, a health care provider who had travelled to Riyadh for work.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - Causes Diagnosis Treatment Complications FAQ
ARDS is a lung condition where the patient suffers from sudden breathlessness, low blood oxygen levels and lung inflammation that could progress to respiratory failure.

Last week, Egypt recorded its first infection after a person who had arrived from Saudi Arabia tested positive.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Urbanization And Rising Respiratory Problems
Urbanization is not bad altogether. Undertaking the correct approaches during urban planning can avoid most of the environmental problems associated with it.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some research has suggested that camels are a likely source of the virus.

Complete Recovery After of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) May be Rare
Survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain physically and emotionally weak five years after recovering

Source-AFP