MERS virus in Saudi poses hospital threat, study says

The deadly MERS coronavirus which has emerged in Saudi Arabia poses a threat to hospitals because it spreads rapidly and carries a high mortality rate, according to a study out Thursday. An international team of researchers studied 23 cases at four hospitals in Saudi Arabia, which included 15 fatalities, a mortality rate of 65 percent, the New England Journal of Medicine reported. So far, Saudi Arabian authorities have confirmed 49 cases of MERS, including 32 deaths from the mysterious virus. Since the first recorded case in Saudi Arabia in April last year, the World Health Organization has reported 64 cases of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), with 39 fatalities, a mortality rate of 59 percent. MERS is part of the same family of coronaviruses as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which has killed nearly 800 people worldwide since 2003. The higher mortality rate of victims in medical establishments is a cause for concern, the researchers...