RIYADH: A Saudi man and a woman have died from the MERS virus, raising the death toll from the Sars-like infection in the kingdom to 36, the health ministry said yesterday.
Three others infected with the same virus, two in Eastern Province and one in Riyadh, have been treated, the ministry said on its website. It said 62 people have been infected with the virus in the kingdom so far, down from a previous figure of 66.
The ministry did not clarify why it had lowered the number of reported cases of the disease, dubbed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. It said the latest victims were a 75-year-old man in the eastern region of Al Ahsaa, where an outbreak began in a healthcare facility in April, and a 63-year-old woman in Riyadh, but did not say when they had died.
Saudi Arabia recorded its first MERS death in June 2012. The latest deaths bring to 42 the number of people to have died from the virus worldwide to date.
AFP
