VILevi/iStock/Thinkstock(RIYADH, Saudi Arabia) — The World Health Organization announced Friday that in the first two weeks of this month, six new cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, also known as MERS, were identified in Saudi Arabia.
The new cases involve patients between the ages of 35 and 77, according to the WHO. Four of the patients were identified as being in stable condition, with the other two listed as “critical.”
Four of the patients reportedly had a history of contact with camels and/or consumption of their raw milk, which are considered known risk factors.
WHO says there have been 1,374 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS since September 2012, and at least 490 related deaths.
The disease has also spread in recent months in South Korea, with more than 100 people there diagnosed with the disease this year. At least 14 have died from MERS in South Korea.
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