A 55-year-old Jeddah man suffering from renal failure died of complications from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) at a Madinah hospital. His death brings the number of patients worldwide killed by the virus to 49.
Forty-three people have died of MERS in Saudi Arabia. The total number of cases in the Kingdom is 84.
Earlier this week, the Health Ministry reported that a 38-year-old Saudi, who was suffering from severe pneumonia and respiratory failure had died.
The victim in Madinah was a Saudi originally from Jeddah, making it the second reported MERS case from the city. A 2-year-old child died early in July.
The man was also suffering from chronic renal failure and was undergoing treatment at the ICU at King Fahd Hospital.
Meanwhile, Dr. Halden S. Shane, president and CEO of TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc., of Beverly Hills, California, told an environmental and medical group at an infectious diseases conference in Riyadh that binary ionization technology could be effective in combating bacteria and viruses.
Binary ionization technology is a disinfection system that uses cold plasma to a hydrogen peroxide-based aerosol. The application could be effective against MERS, Shane told the group in Riyadh.
According to the WHO, 94 laboratory-confirmed and 16 probable cases of the MERS have been reported to the organization since April 2012. Other affected countries in the Middle East include Jordan, UAE and Qatar.
MERS virus claims second Jeddah victim
