SARS-like virus attacks Saudi Arabia

5 Saudis have died from a new virus like the culprit causing severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the last few days and two other victims are having emergency treatment, Ministry of Health The country said.

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Saudi Arabian news agency SPA has released a statement from the Ministry of Health of the country, saying all cases of death or infection from coronavirus types (virus strains are round-shaped when viewed under glass microscope) called hCoV-EMC occurs in Ahsaa province in the oil-rich region of eastern Saudi Arabia.

The hCoV-EMC virus was first detected in mid-2012 and is a cousin of the SARS virus, which developed into a horrific pandemic in East Asia 10 years ago. hCoV-EMC is the acronym for "human coronavirus - Erasmus Medical Center" , which was named after the Dutch medical authority that recognized it.

Saudi authorities have taken blood samples to check for possible
hCoV-EMC infection of high-risk people.

The Saudi Ministry of Health has announced that it is "taking all precautions for people who have been exposed to hCoV-EMC patients . and have taken samples to determine whether they are infected." or not". However, the Arab national authorities did not disclose exactly how many people need to examine the risk of SARS-like virus infection.

To date, 16 deaths have been reported among 23 hCoV-EMC cases detected in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and the UK. In particular, Saudi Arabia is the country with the highest number of deaths, up to 11 people, including the latest 5 cases.

Coronaviruses are responsible for most common colds and pneumonia. However, they could also be the cause of unusual illnesses such as SARS, which claimed the lives of more than 800 people when they broke out in China in 2003.

The other hCoV-EMC virus that causes SARS in that it can cause rapid kidney failure. New strains of virus appear quite mysterious and until now, the World Health Organization (WHO) still does not know its transmission or spread mechanism.

According to a scientific report published last month in the journal Nature, the new virus seems to infect the body through a junction in lung cells. The authors stated that bats may be the natural reservoir of hCoV-EMC.

Researchers believe that the hCoV-EMC virus can spread from person to person, although such incidents do not seem to be common. Current research is still limited in understanding cases of people who have been hospitalized in severe illness. The scientific community is still not clear whether the disease is truly rare and acute, or whether it can be common but mild so it is difficult to detect during the past time.