15 July 2016
Riyadh - Two men died and one was infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the past three days, the Ministry of Health announced Thursday.

According to an official from the Ministry of Health, the dead were two men, 66 and 58 years old, from Jeddah and Taif respectively.

Another 86-year-old man from Aflaj contracted the disease through a camel. According to doctors, his condition is stable and he is out of danger.

With the new cases, the number of cases in the Kingdom since June 2012 has risen to 1,438 which includes 604 deaths. A total of eight patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom.

The director of public administration for infection control at the ministry, Hayel Al-Abdali, said the WHO has commended the efforts of the ministry in containing the disease within the Kingdom. "MERS is linked to the community in Saudi Arabia, the environment (camels) and exposure, and some patients develop it and move on to hospitals, where there is a fertile environment for transmission," he explained.

© Arab News 2016