Mers coronavirus: first death recorded in Asia, Filipino health worker isolated

MANILA // A Malaysian man who went on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia has become the first death in Asia from Middle East respiratory syndrome, while the Philippines has isolated a health worker who tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.

Malaysia’s health ministry said the Muslim man returned to Malaysia on March 29 and developed a high fever and cough and had difficulty breathing more than a week later. The man, 54, from southern Johor state, died on Sunday in a hospital, it said on Wednesday.

“Investigations showed that the cause of death is severe pneumonia secondary to Mers-CoV,” the ministry said.

The ministry urged all passengers travelling with the victim on Turkish Airlines on March 29 to report for health checks. It said it was also checking on people who have been in close contact with the man.

Mers belongs to a family of viruses that includes both the common cold and Sars, which killed some 800 people in a global outbreak in 2003. It can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure. It was first identified in 2012 in the Middle East, where most cases since have been diagnosed.

In the Philippines, the health secretary, Enrique Ona, said the Filipino health worker had a positive blood test for the virus but showed no symptoms.

The man had personal contact with another Filipino hospital worker who died of the virus last week in the UAE. Blood test results were released in the Emirates after he arrived in the Philippines, and authorities immediately informed the Philippine Embassy.

The man has been isolated and people who had contact with him are being traced and quarantined, Mr Ona said. Officials are also tracing the plane passengers who were seated near the Filipino during the flight to Manila.

The health department said it is sending an epidemiology expert and an infectious disease specialist to UAE after the death of the Filipino there and reports that six other Filipinos were found to have the virus.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Health Authority Abu Dhabi said on Wednesday that those who were found to have contracted Mers were expected to clear the virus within 10-14 days with no treatment.

The World Health Organisation said it has been informed of 238 confirmed cases globally, including 92 deaths, since September 2012.

While Mers does not seem to spread as quickly between people as Sars did, it appears to be more deadly.

* Associated Press