For the first time since last November, Qatar has reported a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case in a 71-year-old man, according to a report in The Peninsula.
According to the report, this brings the total number of MERS cases in Qatar to 10. Seven Qataris and three expatriates have been infected until now. Of them three Qataris and two expatriates died.
The patient recently traveled to Saudi Arabia when he fell ill and had to be hospitalized. He was airlifted to Qatar for treatment and remains hospitalized. Confirmation of MERS was made by the national reference laboratory in Doha.
In addition, Saudi Arabia has reported 3 additional MERS cases in recent days bringing the total cases to 762, including 324 fatalities.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Since April 2012 and as of 9 October 2014, 892 cases of MERS-CoV have been reported by local health authorities worldwide, including 356 deaths. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
