All three cases were males from Riyadh aged between 56 and 60 years with underlying health conditions.
Health Ministry in Saudi Arabia has informed the World Health Organization about the death of one person and three others infected with the deadly and highly contagious Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS coronavirus last month. According to news reports, all three cases were males from Riyadh aged between 56 and 60 years with underlying health conditions.
In 2024, four cases and two deaths have been reported from the country.
What is MERS?
According to John Hopkins Medicine, MERS is a deadly illness that affects your respiratory system, caused by coronavirus – leading to mild to moderate respiratory illness. However, in some cases, the symptoms are severe and can lead to death.
MERS was first reported in 2012 and has mostly been found in countries in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Yemen. Some cases have also been found in Europe, and in people who have traveled to the Middle East. However, very few cases have been reported in the US.
Experts say apart from infecting people, the virus has also been found in camels sometimes.
Signs and symptoms of MERS
Doctors say MERS does not cause symptoms in many cases, but very often, the symptoms begin within 1-2 weeks after being infected by the virus. They most often start about 4-5 days after being exposed to the virus but can happen up to a fortnight later as well.
A few common symptoms include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Coughing
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Trouble breathing
- Muscle aches
- Bloody coughing
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhoea
What does coronavirus do?
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that usually infect birds and mammals and can be life-threatening as well. Scientists first described coronaviruses in the mid-1960s and since then they have identified seven strains of coronavirus that make humans sick. Four strains cause only mild or moderate cold-like symptoms.
Three coronavirus strains cause serious illness:
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), identified in 2003
- Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), identified in 2012
- SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Who is at risk of MERS?
Doctors say those at risk of MERS, are those who:
- Had close contact with someone who traveled to the Arabian Peninsula and became ill
- Had close contact with someone with a confirmed MERS-CoV infection
- Are a healthcare worker who had close contact with a patient with MERS and did not follow infection control measures
- Had direct contact with camels or consumed raw camel meat or milk
How does MERS spread?
According to experts, MERS is highly contagious and spreads like any other infectious disease through your respiratory tract. However, it does not spread quickly and is unlike COVID-19, which spread rapidly around the world. MERS transmission requires close contact like between family members or in a healthcare setting. Health officials have not observed the community-wide spread of MERS.
You can also get MERS from camels. In Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries, camels have strains of MERS that match human strains. This suggests active transmission of MERS from camels to people. Experts say that around 35 per cent of people with MERS have died. However, the actual percentage may be lower because it does not include mild cases that go undiagnosed and unreported. Those most likely to develop severe disease have underlying health conditions that weaken the immune system, like chronic heart disease, kidney issues, lung issues, cancer, or diabetes.
