WHO is Notified of Nine Cases of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia

Between May 26 and May 30, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of nine additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including four deaths. Details of the cases are as follows:

1. A 43-year-old male from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 27 while admitted to a hospital since May 21 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. Currently, he is in critical condition in ICU. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.

2. A 50-year-old female from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 28 while admitted to a hospital since Ma 8 due to unrelated medical conditions. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 29. She died on May 29. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.

3. A 48-year-old male from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 23 while admitted to a hospital since May 4 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient, who has no comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on 28 May. Currently, he is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.

4. A 57-year-old female from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 24 while admitted to a hospital since May 20 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. She died on May 31. Investigation of history of exposure to known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing.

5. A 74-year-old male from Taif city developed symptoms on May 27 while admitted to a hospital since May 17 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. Between May 21 and 23, he was admitted to the same ward and attended by the same health workers as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, he is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.

6. A 70-year-old male from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 27 while admitted to a hospital since May 20 due to unrelated medical conditions. The patient, who had comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. Between May 18 and 20, he was admitted to the same ward as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that was reported previously. Investigation of whether they were attended by the same health workers is ongoing. The patient had no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. He died on May 30.

7. A 27-year-old, non-national female from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 22 while admitted to a hospital since May 18 due to an unrelated medical condition. The patient, who has no comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. She was admitted to the same room as a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that was reported previously. Investigation of whether they were attended by the same healthcare workers is ongoing. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, she is in critical condition in ICU.

8. A 26-year-old, non-national, female health worker from Hofuf city developed symptoms on May 26 and was admitted to a hospital on May 27. The patient, who has no comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 28. Between May 22 and 23, she provided care to a laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV case that was reported previously. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Currently, she is in stable condition in a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.
 
9. A 65-year-old male from Taif city developed symptoms on May 20 and was admitted to a hospital in Taif on the same day. The patient, who has comorbidities, tested positive for MERS-CoV on May 25. He has a history of contact with camels and consumption of raw camel milk. The patient has no history of exposure to other known risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. He died on May 30.

Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.

The National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also notified WHO of the death of two previously reported MERS-CoV cases. Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,164 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 440 related deaths.

Source: WHO