WHO calls Middle Eastern virus, MERS, 'threat to the entire world' as death toll rises to 27

May 29, 2013 – HEALTH - Three people have died from a deadly new SARS-like virus, taking the total death toll to 27. The unnamed victims were from Saudi Arabia and died in the country's eastern region, the Saudi health ministry confirmed today. Yesterday, a 65-year-old man died in France as health officials warned the MERS-CoV virus is now a global threat with 49 confirmed cases worldwide. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization warned that the disease, first identified in humans in September, is now their greatest global concern. The MERS-CoV virus is related to SARS, which killed some 800 people in a global epidemic in 2003. Dr Margaret Chan, head of the WHO, singled out the illness in a speech on Monday in Geneva. ‘We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat,’ Chan said at the annual WHO meeting. ‘We do not know where the virus hides in nature. We do not know how people are getting infected. Until we answer these questions, we are empty-handed when it comes to prevention. These are alarm bells. And we must respond. She said the ‘novel coronavirus is a threat to the entire world.’ WHO said in an update earlier this month that 20 of the 40 confirmed cases of the disease have ended in death. Most of those infected since the virus was identified last year had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan. There also have been cases in Britain and Germany. Saudi Arabia accounts for the majority of confirmed cases, which stands at 33, according to WHO officials. Tunisia last week became the ninth country in which the virus has been confirmed. It is believed the disease is transmitted mainly from person-to-person contact, but so far does not spread easily among larger communities. Authorities believe initial transmission of the virus was from animal to human but have yet to identify the animal sources. French authorities earlier this month began handing out leaflets at airports to travelers to the Middle East advising them to wash their hands frequently and limit contact with animals. The French victim had been in hospital for more than a month, spending the last 20 days in a room of the intensive care unit of the hospital where he was on life-support systems. Speaking about the death of the patient from the virus, French health minister Marisol Touraine said ‘There is no cause for additional concern.’ –http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332677/WHO-calls-Middle-Eastern-virus-MERS-threat-entire-world-death-toll-rises-27.html?ito=feeds-newsxml