This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

MERS affects three more patients

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

WHO reported an additional three laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, including two deaths.

Since September 2012, when the outbreak began, there have been 160 cases of MERS infection, including 68 deaths.

The latest cases include a 73-year-old woman with pre-existing medical conditions from Riyadh who became sick Nov. 12, was hospitalized Nov. 14 and died Nov. 18; a 65-year-old man with pre-existing medical conditions from the Jawf region who became sick Nov. 4 and was hospitalized Nov. 14; and a 37-year-old man from Riyadh who became sick Nov. 9, was hospitalized Nov. 13 and died Nov. 18.

Respiratory disease is the primary illness associated with MERS, but diarrhea is commonly reported in patients with the infection. Severely immunocompromised patients with MERS can present with atypical symptoms, according to health officials.

WHO recommends that all travelers returning from the Middle East who develop severe acute respiratory infections should be tested for MERS. However, the health organization does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions as a result of the outbreak.