RIYADH: A thirty-eight-year-old expatriate died and another was infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) on Thursday, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.
According to an official from the Ministry of Health, the death was in Al-Baha region and the patient did not have any previous complications at the time of his admission to the hospital. However, the officials said the deceased was a primary case.
The fresh case was a Saudi male, aged 40 years from Dammam, and is also a primary case. The hospital authorities said that his condition is critical and he is being treated at the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in the Eastern Province.
With the new case, the number of cases in the Kingdom since June 2012 has risen to 1,412, which included 598 deaths. A total of 17 patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom.
Director of public administration for infection control at the Ministry of Health, Hayel Al-Abdali, said that the World Health Organization has commended the efforts of the ministry in containing the disease within the Kingdom.
“There are more than 450 health facilities and hundreds of thousands of health practitioners throughout the Kingdom,” he said.
In South Korea, he recalled that one case resulted in the spread to 186 other cases, which is far more than in Saudi Arabia.
He attributed the sporadic cases of the coronavirus during Ramadan to the high rate of consumption of camel meat, especially during meat preparation before cooking when preventative measures are not taken, but noted that there is no scientific proof.
He stressed the importance of taking preventive measures and dealing seriously and cautiously with camels and camel meat, especially before cooking to minimize new infections.
As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, barns, or other places where animals are present should practice general hygiene measures, including regular hand washing before and after touching animals, and to avoid contact with sick animals.
According to an official from the Ministry of Health, the death was in Al-Baha region and the patient did not have any previous complications at the time of his admission to the hospital. However, the officials said the deceased was a primary case.
The fresh case was a Saudi male, aged 40 years from Dammam, and is also a primary case. The hospital authorities said that his condition is critical and he is being treated at the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in the Eastern Province.
With the new case, the number of cases in the Kingdom since June 2012 has risen to 1,412, which included 598 deaths. A total of 17 patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom.
Director of public administration for infection control at the Ministry of Health, Hayel Al-Abdali, said that the World Health Organization has commended the efforts of the ministry in containing the disease within the Kingdom.
“There are more than 450 health facilities and hundreds of thousands of health practitioners throughout the Kingdom,” he said.
In South Korea, he recalled that one case resulted in the spread to 186 other cases, which is far more than in Saudi Arabia.
He attributed the sporadic cases of the coronavirus during Ramadan to the high rate of consumption of camel meat, especially during meat preparation before cooking when preventative measures are not taken, but noted that there is no scientific proof.
He stressed the importance of taking preventive measures and dealing seriously and cautiously with camels and camel meat, especially before cooking to minimize new infections.
As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, barns, or other places where animals are present should practice general hygiene measures, including regular hand washing before and after touching animals, and to avoid contact with sick animals.
