MERS virus found in Saudi Arabian bat

Scientists have found the mysterious MERS virus in a bat in Saudi Arabia. An international research team said the bat virus is an exact match to the first known human case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The sample was collected from within a few miles of that patient’s home. The discovery reported on Wednesday is considered an important development in the search for the origin of MERS, a deadly respiratory illness that is worrying health officials around the world. But it’s likely that something else – perhaps another animal – is spreading the virus directly to humans, said Dr Ziad Memish, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Health and lead author of the report. Since it was identified last September, the respiratory illness has sickened nearly 100 people, most of them in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. About half of them have died. No cases have been reported in the United States. Bats have been...