Yesterday the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed three cases of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) infection in Saudi Arabia linked to a Riyadh hospital, one of them fatal.
Also, in Taif, a 32-year-old man has died from MERS-CoV. That man had contact with camels, and his case is not considered part of the outbreak.
Two patients shared a hospital room
In the Riyadh outbreak, the patients are men ages 56 to 60 years with underlying health conditions. They did not have camel contact and were not healthcare workers. The three cases were reported from April 10 and 17.
"The three cases are epidemiologically linked to exposures in a health-care facility in Riyadh, although investigations are ongoing to verify this and understand the route of transmission," the WHO said.
The index case-patient, who died from his infection, shared a hospital room with the second patient identified. The third patient was a man who was treated at the same hospital as the first two patients but in a separate ward. As of April 21, the second and third case-patients remained in intensive care units.
Since the first report of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia in 2012, there have been 2,204 human cases and 860 deaths globally, with the vast majority in Saudi Arabia.