MERS Virus Strikes Jordan Couple in UAE, Say Sources

In the United Arab Emirates, two new cases of the potentially deadly MERS respiratory virus have been reported.

A 38-year-old Jordanian resident was hospitalised with breathing problems and diagnosed to be a carrier of MERS, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.

New MERS Death in Saudi
A new MERS death was confirmed by Saudi health authorities on Wednesday.

His wife, who is eight months pregnant, was also hospitalised after being diagnosed as suffering from the disease, health authorities in Abu Dhabi said.

In July, the authorities reported that there had been seven MERS cases in the oil-rich Gulf federation in which foreign residents comprise 80 percent of the population.

The World Health Organisation says it has been informed of 160 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection worldwide since September last year, including 68 deaths.

First Camel Tests Positive for MERS Virus, Says Saudi Government
A camel has tested positive for MERS, recording the first case of animal infected with the coronavirus that has killed 64 people worldwide, says the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia is the worst affected country, accounting for 55 deaths out of 130 confirmed cases.

Experts are struggling to understand the MERS virus, for which there is no vaccine.

Third MERS Death Confirmed in Qatar
The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Qatar has now climbed to three following the death of an expatriate living in the Gulf state who had earlier contracted MERS.

It 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.

In August, researchers pointed to Arabian camels as possible hosts of the virus.

Respiratory Diseases - Diseases of the Human Respiratory System
Respiratory diseases affect any part of the respiratory system. Some of the lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can lead to respiratory failure.

Like SARS, MERS appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering from a temperature, cough and breathing difficulties.

But it differs in that it also causes rapid kidney failure and the extremely high death rate has caused serious concern.

Source-AFP