In the past 24 hours, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has reported ten new cases of MERS in the capital Riyadh, and one death from the virus. Those numbers follow reports of nine new cases the previous day and two fatalities.
The Arab state hadn’t seen so many new infections in a day since the height of MERS outbreak last year, reports wired.com.
The ministry confirmed the death of a 71-year-old man in Riyadh, adding that nine other new cases of MERS had been registered. The new figures bring the total death toll from MERS in the country to 480 and the number of infected people to 1,115 since the disease was first discovered in 2012.
This is especially concerning as travelers begin to arrive for the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Islam’s holy sites between September 20 and 25 when Saudia Arabia hosts more than 2 million people, who sleep in shared tents and travel barefoot toward their destinations. Those conditions make it extraordinarily easy for a virus like MERS to spread.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that is new to humans.Most people infected with MERS-CoV developed severe acute respiratory illness, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Many of them have died.
