The WHO says it's not clear how the virus is jumping to humans, as Saudi Arabia reports a new case.
In an update today on the Ebola virus outbreak in Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) African Regional Office said in a statement that two more patients have died, pushing the number of fatalities to 62. The number of suspected cases remained at 86, for a case-fatality ratio of 72%.
In separate announcements today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported two more Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of them fatal, raising the global MERS count to 200 cases.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health (MOH) late on Mar 21 reported three cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in adults from Riyadh.
A Saudi man who contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in November after tending sick camels had a virus nearly identical to that found in one of his camels, suggesting he contracted the disease from them, according to a letter yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The 5 cases were in Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia; 2 proved fatal; and 1 involved contact with camels.
In other dromedary news, research on camels' possible role is under way in Qatar.
All MERS case-patients are from Riyadh, and at least 3 of them are in one family.
The man owns a farm and is hospitalized. The WHO also confirmed 2 other cases.
The WHO added a few details today as it confirmed two previously reported MERS cases in Saudi Arabia.
