10th MERS Cases Confirmed in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health announced in a statement on July 21, 2021, a 67-year-old man from Riyadh city, Riyadh, was confirmed with MERS. The man's infection is listed as Active.

He had contact with camels, including drinking camel milk.

MERS is a zoonotic coronavirus, and the source of the virus remains unknown, says the U.S. CDC. Most people infected with MERS-CoV developed severe respiratory illnesses, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Unfortunately, many of them have died.

This is the Kingdom's tenth MERS case detected in 2021. From 2012 until July 2, 2021, the ECDC reported 2,591 MERS-CoV cases and 940 associated fatalities.

Countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula that have reported MERS cases include Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

As of July 26, 2021, the U.S. FDA had not Authorized or Approved a MERS-CoV prevention vaccine.