WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Healthcare officials across Saudi Arabia are on high alert following the death of three men due to a zoonotic disease called Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS.
According to the World Health Organization, all three middle-aged patients had underlying health conditions and no direct contact to camels.
'The three cases are epidemiologically linked to exposures in a health-care facility in Riyadh, although investigations are ongoing to verify this and understand the route of transmission,' the UN agency said.
The first case, a 56-year-old school teacher in the capital Riyadh, went to a hospital in April after developing a cough, fever and body aches. He later succumbed to the disease.
Later, the other two men, both aged 60, from the same hospital tested positive for MERS, raising concerns among health authorities that the disease might be spreading across the hospital. Following this, dozens of patients in the hospital have undergone tests.
WHO stated that MERS, belonging to the same family of Sars-Cov-2, has a high mortality rate as 35 percent of the confirmed cases have died.
The virus transmits from its natural host dromedary camels to people working in close proximity to them or their raw milk.
MERS was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and it has since spread to 27 other countries.
According to WHO data, a total of 2,204 cases and 860 deaths have been reported, of which 80 percent cases have been in Saudi Arabia.
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