WHO is Notified of Four Cases of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia

Between Feb. 20, 2015 and Feb. 22, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of four additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including one death. Details of the cases are as follows:

A 58-year-old, non-national male from Dammam city developed symptoms on Feb. 18 and was admitted to a hospital on Feb. 20. The patient has no comorbidities and no history of exposure to any known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, the patient is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.

A 46-year-old male from Khober city was admitted to a hospital on Feb. 9 for unrelated medical conditions. The patient was discharged from the hospital on Feb. 14. He developed symptoms on Feb. 17 and was readmitted to the same hospital on the same day. The patient was treated in the same ward and by the same healthcare workers as three laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases that were reported previously. He has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, the patient is in critical condition in ICU.

A 51-year-old male from Al-Quway'iyah city developed symptoms on Feb. 2 and was admitted to a hospital on Feb. 18. The patient has comorbidities. He has no history of contact with camels; however, he has history of consumption of raw camel milk in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, he is in critical condition in ICU.

A 58-year-old female from Buridah city developed symptoms on Feb. 16 while admitted to a hospital since Dec. 29 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient was treated in the same ward and by the same healthcare worker as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that was reported previously. She had no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. The patient died on Feb. 21.

The National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also notified WHO of the death of four previously reported MERS-CoV cases.

Contact tracing of household contacts and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.

Globally, WHO has been notified of 1,030 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 381 related deaths.

Source: WHOons.