Jeddah toddler, EP man succumb to MERS

JEDDAH: Two more Saudis have died of infection from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrom (MERS), the Ministry of Health said on Sunday. This brings the total number of deaths from the new virus to 38 in the Kingdom and 44 worldwide.
In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said the latest fatalities from the SARS-related disease include a 53-year-old from the Eastern region and a 2-year-old child in Jeddah, who suffers from chronic lung diseases. Both died on Saturday, it said.
Two other citizens in Riyadh region, aged 66 and 69, have also been confirmed to have caught the infection and are now under intensive care, said the statment. A third resident, a health worker, was also diagnosed with the infection and is under treatment.
Tests conducted on 77 other suspected MERS cases yielded negative results, the ministry said.
Prior to this new Ministry of Health announcement, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement dated July 5 that the global toll from MERS was 42, out of 79 laboratory-confirmed cases since the virus was discovered in September 2012 .
The WHO urged member states to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns. It also advised health care providers to maintain vigilance.
"Recent travelers returning from the Middle East who develop SARI should be tested for MERS-CoV as advised in the current surveillance recommendations. Specimens from patients’ lower respiratory tracts should be obtained for diagnosis where possible. Clinicians are reminded that MERS-CoV infection should be considered even with atypical signs and symptoms, such as diarrhea, in patients who are immunocompromised," it said.