More people died by MERS corona virus in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi authorities announced today that three more people have died because of corona virus MERS in the country. At the same time a team of experts examines the measures that could be taken to limit the spread of disease.
The Ministry of Health announced that three men aged 56, 61 and 79 years old died in Riyadh. Also identified six new cases, bringing the total number of people have fallen ill from potentially lethal corona virus MERS to 345 by September 2012. With the three new victims today, the death toll reached 105.
In a press conference the Minister of Health Adel Fakich, said that Westerners experts and representatives of the World Health Organization met in Riyadh last weekend and discussed "a range of preventative measures (...) to limit the spread of the virus."
These measures will be announced in the coming days, the minister added.
The resurgence of the virus caused panic among residents, especially in Jeddah, where many are flocking to pharmacies to buy surgical masks to protect themselves from the virus.
The corona virus MERS is considered more lethal, but not as contagious as the virus that causes SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Like SARS, the MERS causes fever, cough, and respiratory problems, and in more severe cases, kidney failure.
So far there is no cure.
The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia has asked five international pharmaceutical companies to work together in order to produce a vaccine for MERS.
