Egypt reports 1st case of MERS virus; Saudi Arabia reports 5 more deaths

HEALTH

Egypt reports 1st case of MERS virus; Saudi Arabia reports 5 more deaths

The Associated Press Published Saturday, April 26, 2014 8:52AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, April 26, 2014 1:37PM EDT

Egyptian Muslim pilgrims, some wearing masks as a precaution against the Middle East respiratory syndrome, pray after they cast stones at a pillar, symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

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CAIRO, Egypt -- Egyptian authorities have detected the first case of a dangerous SARS-like virus in the country, the state news agency said Saturday.

MENA said a 27-year-old civil engineer was diagnosed Saturday morning after returning from Saudi Arabia, where the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, has been centred. It said the man was quarantined upon his arrival at Cairo airport Friday and transported to a nearby hospital.

MERS belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses that include both the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003. MERS can cause symptoms such as fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.

There is no vaccine or treatment for the MERS virus, and it is still unclear how it is transmitted. It also has been detected in Asia and Europe.

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry said late Friday that five more people in the kingdom have died from MERS.

The ministry says 92 people have died and 313 have contracted the virus in Saudi since September 2012.

King Abdullah fired his health minister Monday as officials struggle to alleviate public concerns amid a spike in infections.

On Saturday, the new health minister, Adel Faqih, announced that the country was reserving three medical centres in several cities for treating MERS cases exclusively, as part of a nation-wide plan for containing the disease's spread.

In a statement on the ministry's website, Faqih said the centres would be equipped with the latest medical technologies for diagnosing and treating the virus. He also said he plans to invite experts from Germany, Britain, France and the United States to study the outbreak.