The Ministry of Public Health yesterday confirmed a new case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in a 62 year old expatriate who has been suffering from chronic diseases.
This is the first MERS case reported in the country this year taking the total number of confirmed cases to 19 including seven deaths, since the outbreak of the disease worldwide, the Ministry said yesterday.
The patient was isolated for appropriate care, after testing positive for the virus by the specialized laboratory at the HMC. The patient didn’t have contacts with anyone infected with MERS virus nor travelled out of the country over the past few weeks.
The emergency response team at the Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry responded as soon it was alerted about the case. It conducted elaborate tests to know the source of the illness. Necessary tests have been conducted on all those who came into contact with the patient, who have been kept under observation for two weeks, said the ministry.
