FRANKFURT, Germany (Web Desk) – The first death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has been registered in Germany, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The information comes from Germany firm Niels-Stensen-Kliniken GmbH, which is a sponsor of a number of German clinics. The 65-year-old man, who died of MERS-related complications in a hospital in Lower Saxony on June 6, was infected during a trip to Abu Dhabi in February.
Meanwhile, the death toll in South Korea, where the largest outbreak of the virus outside the Middle East has been registered, reached 19 people. The first MERS case in the Asian country was confirmed on May 20. Currently more than 5,500 people are in quarantine.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) is to hold an emergency session to address the “large and complex” MERS outbreak, first identified in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There is currently no vaccine or cure for the virus. The fatality rate of the disease has been estimated at 12.3 percent by the South Korean Health Ministry, much lower than the previous estimate of 40 percent.
The symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, but there can be more serious complications, such as pneumonia or kidney failure.
