MERS Virus Outbreak Continues: 26 New Cases and 10 Deaths Over the Weekend

Saudi Arabia might need to have their meeting with the World Health Organization as soon as possible. A total of 26 news cases of the MERS coronavirus were documented in the Middle Eastern country over the weekend and resulted in 10 deaths.

The Saudi Arabian Health Ministry reported 14 new cases of MERS early on Saturday morning, totaling 313 infections since the disease's discovery in September of 2012. As the weekend progressed, the number of infections jumped to 339 with over 100 deaths. The cause of the sudden spike is unknown.

Last Monday when the disease began to worry many, health officials in the country set up a meeting with the World Health Organization as well as other medical experts to discuss the status of the disease and any possible vaccine options to help halt the spread. The meeting was scheduled for this week, but perhaps it should have been earlier since there was a 19% increase in total cases over the past week.

Additionally, Egypt documented their first case of MERS over the weekend. This is the first case found outside of Saudi Arabia this year. The patient is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. The spread of MERS outside of Saudi Arabia is concerning because scientists are unaware of the disease's transmission and treatment options.

As of now, the World Health Organization "urges all Member States to remain vigilant and enhance surveillance to detect any early sign that the virus has changed and has attained the possibilities of causing sustained person-to-person transmission," they said in a recent news release.

Health officials are concerned that the virus could have underwent a mutation recently, which could be the cause for the surge in documented cases. Saudi Arabia's former health minister, Abdullah al-Rabiah, was relieved of his duties last week after poorly handling the onset of the MERS outbreak, as many international health officials claimed he was not releasing any pertinent information about the disease and its spread. Adel Fakieh, the country's Minister of Labour, took over when al-Rabiah was dismissed.

The WHO, drug manufacturers, and Saudi Arabia will meet this week to discuss the MERS cases as well as the production of a vaccine to fight the virus. You can read more about the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia in this CNN News article.