The latest developments lift Saudi Arabia’s total from the disease to 1,254, including 539 deaths. So far 703 people have recovered from their infections.In its latest breakdown on the source of infections, the MOH said 33% of patients were exposed to the virus in healthcare settings and 12% are healthcare workers who were infected at their workplace. Source: MERS sickens 3 in Saudi Arabia as Korean patient relapses | CIDRAP
[M]ERS virus infection probably isn’t at the top of your news watch, but I try to look in on it daily. There has been moderate rise in the infections in Saudi Arabia, and recently about two dozen African pilgrims to Mecca returned to their home countries only to be placed in isolation (all have been cleared now). Both the Korean outbreak and the recent spate of infections in SA appear to center around hospitals and healthcare workers, which leads public health experts to deduce that MERS spreads very easily in a healthcare setting. But it also may mean that people with compromised health to begin with are more apt to become ill. What is sobering are the number of deaths which indicate a death rate of about 42%.
