Rising MERS Toll Leads to Sacking of Saudi Health Minister

The rise in cases affected by MERS virus led to dismissal of Saudi health minister just days after he visited a hospital at the centre of growing concerns about the kingdom's handling of the virus.

The rise in cases affected by MERS virus led to dismissal of Saudi health minister just days after he visited a hospital at the centre of growing concerns about the kingdom’s handling of the virus.

Abdullah al-Rabiah was named adviser to King Abdullah and replaced by Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, said a royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Two Foreigners Die of MERS in Jeddah
Fear is rising over the spread of the dreaded respiratory virus as two foreigners have died of the MERS virus in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia has registered by far the largest number of infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the disease’s discovery in September 2012.

Of 243 confirmed cases across the planet, 231 have been in Saudi Arabia, according to the World Health Organisation.

Of those, 76 people have died, most recently two foreigners in the commercial capital Jeddah where there have been mounting fears of a potential surge in infections.

Foreigner Dies of MERS in Saudi, Report Sources
In the Saudi capital a foreigner has died after she contracted MERS, reports health ministry, bringing the nationwide death toll to 73.

Panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff in Jeddah triggered the temporary closure of a hospital emergency room in the city earlier this month.

The now fired minister visited the facility last week in a bid to reassure the public but on Wednesday at least four doctors at the King Fahd Hospital reportedly resigned after refusing to treat MERS patients.

64 Villagers in Malaysia Quarantined Over MERS Virus
64 people in a village in Malaysia have been quarantined after one of the residents died of a respiratory illness.

MERS was initially concentrated in eastern Saudi Arabia but it now affects other areas.

The virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

A recent study said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

Source-AFP