Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – More than a year has passed since the first known infections from what is now called the Middle East Respiratory Symptom coronavirus (MERS-CoV) occurred, yet the world still has no idea where the virus lives in nature, how people are contracting it, how often and under what conditions person-to-person spread occurs and whether it is mutating to infect people more easily.



The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on its website on Tuesday a new case of the mystery virus recorded in Al-Ahsa.



The person is 83 years old and suffering from multiple chronic diseases, the ministry said.



This brings the total number of cases in the Kingdom to 40, of which 24 proved to be fatal.



The cases have been reported so far from Dammam, Al-Ahsa, Qassim, Riyadh and Bisha.



The ministry has assigned a toll free number 800-249-4444 for updates and more information on the disease.



The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday was quoted as saying that it has been informed by the health ministry about a 14-year-old Saudi girl who contracted the virus on May 29, but is in stable condition now.



MERS-CoV acts like a cold virus and attacks the respiratory system, the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. But symptoms, which include fever and a cough, are severe and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.



Coronaviruses cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, as well as a variety of animal diseases.



Health officials do not yet know much about how the newly discovered virus spreads, which makes it hard for scientists to prevent infections.



The WHO is calling for the world to pull together its resources to study and tackle the virus.



Infections appear to originate in the Middle East, in particular countries on the Arabian Peninsula — Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.



But spread from those countries has led to infections in Britain, France, Tunisia and most recently Italy.



A man who had been visiting family in Jordan became ill after returning to Italy. He passed the virus to a family member and a coworker.