A 69-year-old Greek man who was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and returned to Greece yesterday, has been confirmed positive for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to the Greek news source Real.gr (computer translated).
The patient is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. He was tested and found positive in two consecutive molecular tests at the Greek Pasteur Institute. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
Globally, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Apr. 17, there are 275 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 98 deaths since the virus was first seen in April 2012.
During the past week, there has been 44 new cases–Thirty cases have been reported from Saudi Arabia including five deaths and 14 cases, including one death, from the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the Philippines reported one case in a person recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. Malaysia also reported a case that later died, in a traveler recently returned from Saudi Arabia.
