News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Italy announced its first Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case today, in a man who recently spent time in Jordan, site of the first known MERS illnesses, according to media reports.

(CIDRAP News) – Another Saudi Arabian has been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), while six others whose illnesses were previously announced have died, Saudi Arabian authorities and the World Health Organization announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Saudi Arabian officials announced today that they plan to send animal samples to the United States as part of the hunt for the source of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and also reported that testing of scores of human samples has revealed no new cases in the past 2 days.

(CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) expert has expressed concern that guest workers in the Middle East could carry the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) to India and the Philippines, according to a media report, while a few more details emerged about three Tunisian cases reported yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – A media report today said the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has reached Tunisia, killing one man and infecting two of his relatives, while Saudi Arabia has reported another death and a new case since May 17.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said the growing number of clusters of novel coronavirus (nCoV) cases offers increasing evidence that the virus can spread between people in close contact, as France confirmed the infection in a patient who shared a hospital room with the country's first case-patient.

(CIDRAP News) – A nurse who worked at a hospital that cared for a Frenchman who is sick with a novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection may now have the virus herself, becoming the third person possibly infected in connection with the case, according to news services.

Saudi Arabian officials reported today that their investigation of a healthcare-associated cluster of novel coronavirus (nCoV) cases has uncovered two more illnesses, increasing the cluster to 15, as France reported two suspected cases related to its first nCoV case, reported yesterday.