3 more die from SARS-like virus in Saudi Arabia
Jun 2, 2013Nehal El-Sherif, DPA
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-- Three more people have died in Saudi Arabia from a SARS-like coronavirus, the Health Ministry said Sunday, bringing to 24 the number of deaths from the disease in the kingdom.
They all suffered from other, chronic diseases, including kidney failure, the ministry added.
The strain of coronavirus, called MERS-CoV, was discovered in 2012 in a man in Saudi Arabia.
France, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Tunisia and Britain have also reported infections.
The latest worldwide figure update was on Friday when the World Health Organization said there had been 50 laboratory-confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 30 deaths.
Coronavirus belongs to the same group of viruses as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which 10 years ago killed about 800 people.