Saudi Arabia closes emergency ward after MERS spike

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have closed an emergency ward in one of the kingdom's largest hospitals after at least 46 people, including hospital staff, contracted the potentially fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome, also known as MERS, a health official said Wednesday.

Dr. Hanan Balkhi of the Health Ministry's department for infectious diseases said that of the 46 people infected at King Abdulaziz Medical City in the capital, Riyadh, 15 were medical staff. Another 20 people showing symptoms are currently being tested to see if they have contracted the virus, she added.

The patients from the ward, which is to remain closed for two weeks, are being transferred to other hospitals, she said.

The Saudi Health Ministry has said that 480 people have died of the coronavirus since it was first identified in 2012. The ministry said Tuesday that about 1,115 cases have been registered nationwide; 590 have recovered and the rest are being treated.

Most MERS cases have been diagnosed in the Middle East, primarily in Saudi Arabia.

The MERS virus belongs to the family of viruses known as coronaviruses, which include both the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003.

The MERS virus can cause symptoms such as fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure. 

The virus has also affected other countries, including South Korea, where it has killed an estimated 36 people. However, late last month, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said the public “can rest easy,” declaring that the country was effectively out of danger. 

The MERS outbreak in South Korea became the largest outside Saudi Arabia, infecting 186 people and at its peak putting nearly 17,000 in quarantine. It was traced to a man who returned from a business trip to the Middle East in May.

In June, the World Health Organization described the spread of the virus from Saudi Arabia to South Korea as a “wake-up call,” but said it did not merit being declared a global emergency.

Camels are believed to be the only known animal reservoir for the disease. WHO has recommended that people avoid contact with camels, not drink camel milk and only eat camel meat that has been well cooked.

MERS appears to be spread among people in respiratory droplets such as those from coughing, although infections have mostly occurred in those who had close contact with MERS patients.

More than two-dozen countries have reported cases, including the United States, Britain, France Germany and the Philippines.

Wire services