With at least 46 people infected, including hospital staff, an emergency ward in one of Saudi Arabia's biggest hospitals was closed by authorities in an effort to curb the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS.
According to Dr. Hanan Balkhi from the infectious diseases department of the Health Ministry, another 20 individuals who showed symptoms of the disease at the King Abdulaziz Medical City are being tested. As the ward is scheduled to stay closed for two weeks, patients have been transferred to other hospitals in the meantime.
The King Adbulaziz Medical City is a group of hospitals under the ownership of the Saudi Arabian National Guard. Other outpatient and emergency departments have been put on alert after one facility has experienced a surge in cases of infections.
The Healthy Ministry reported three new deaths associated with MERS in Riyadh, all males aged between 65 and 86 years old, bringing the death toll for the disease to 483 since the virus was identified in 2012.
The agency added that 1,118 MERS cases have been recorded around the country, 592 of which have recovered while the rest, including those from the emergency ward, are being treated. The three individuals who died were also included in those who caught the virus at the emergency ward.
Before this spike in cases in Saudi Arabia, South Korea was suffering from an outbreak, the largest known for MERS outside of the Arabian Peninsula.
MERS got its name because most cases of infection were diagnosed in the Middle East, mainly Saudi Arabia. The virus belongs to the coronavirus family, the same family that viruses for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the common cold are part of. Back in 2003, the SARS outbreak claimed around 800 lives around the world.
Like other coronaviruses, the virus responsible for MERS spreads when an individual comes into contact with respiratory secretions from an infected person. Those with confirmed infections typically suffer through a severe acute respiratory illness while experiencing a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
In some cases, gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may be experienced. Those with pre-existing medical conditions like chronic heart, kidney and lung disease, cancer and diabetes are likelier to get sick with MERS.
The incubation period for MERS ranges between 2 and 14 days. Typically though, symptoms start showing in 5 to 6 days.
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