Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that three more people have died from a new respiratory virus related to SARS, bringing the total number of deaths in the Kingdom to 24. The ministry said the three deceased were among 38 infected in the Kingdom with the respiratory coronavirus. It said two of the three whose deaths were announced on Sunday were suffering from chronic diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday prior to the latest Saudi announcement that it had been informed of 51 confirmed cases of the virus since September and 30 of those cases were fatal. On Friday, Italy reported its first case of coronavirus. A 45-year-old man who had been traveling in Jordan was admitted to a hospital in Tuscany with a high fever, a cough and breathing difficulties, the Italian Health Ministry said. Infections have emerged in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. All of the cases have ties to the Middle East, according to WHO. The WHO has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It is from the same viral family that triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world in late 2003 and killed 775 people. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan stated last week that the MERS-CoV represents a threat to the entire world. As evidence mounts that the virus is capable, although weakly, of transmitting itself between humans, health care officials worry that infections could spark a deadly pandemic. With a mortality rate that hovers around 50 percent, the virus is extremely deadly and poses a serious public health threat. Chan gave a summation of the current situation: “The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself. The novel coronavirus is a threat to the entire world. We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat. Any new disease that is emerging faster than our understanding is never under control.”
