Via The Star, a report by its global health reporter Jennifer Yang: New SARS-related coronavirus claims a third life. Excerpt:
Three people have now died from the new coronavirus in the Middle East — two of whom were relatives from the same Saudi Arabian household, the World Health Organization confirmed Friday.
There are now a total of seven confirmed cases, which is up one from last week. An eighth case has been deemed “probable” but confirmation of infection may not be possible, according to WHO spokesperson Glenn Thomas, who said tests are still underway.
So far, this new virus — which is genetically related to the virus that caused SARS — has been popping up in three regions: Doha, Qatar, where two citizens have been infected, and the Saudi Arabian cities of Jeddah and Riyadh, which are approximately 850 kilometres apart.
The first case was a 60-year-old Saudi Arabian man who was hospitalized in Jeddah on June 13.
“The newly reported cases demonstrate that the virus has persisted over a period of at least 5 months and is geographically distributed over a wider area than was evidenced by the first two cases,” the WHO said in a Nov. 28 surveillance recommendation report.
“Given that the exact extent of the distribution is unknown, WHO is taking the precaution of recommending an expansion of surveillance to monitor for the appearance of the virus in other countries.”
All of the victims have been male but “the significance of this is unknown,” the release said.
The WHO said it still does not know the source of the virus or its mode of transmission but the family cluster of cases has raised questions over whether the virus might be transmitting from person to person — as was the case with SARS.
Three members of the same Saudi Arabian family have now been infected, two fatally. A fourth relative is the probable case. All were treated in Riyadh, according to Thomas.
