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When last we checked in on the elusive disease MERS — Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, caused by a virus related to the cause of the worldwide SARS epidemic in 2003 — it had been brewing in the Gulf states for three years, but was triggering international alarm because of an outbreak in Korea.
That was in June. There has not been a case of MERS in Korea since July. But rather suddenly, the virus has picked up activity in the country where it got started, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And that’s a concern, because in a month, Saudi Arabia will host millions of temporary visitors from all over the world, making the obligatory pilgrimage known as the hajj.
The new run of cases is centered in one city and one hospital: King Abdulaziz Medical City, in Riyadh, the capital. This is important because, in the original MERS cases, and also in the recent Korean outbreak, hospitals were the nexus of infection, the place where the virus was exchanged between sick people, healthy companions and family members, and healthcare workers.
Read full, original post: MERS Cases Increasing in Saudi Arabia, And The Hajj Is Coming
