Man with SARS-like infection dies in Britain
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London - A 49-year-old man has died in Britain after contracting a SARS-like coronavirus, London hospital officials confirmed on Thursday.
The Qatari man with "severe respiratory illness due to novel coronavirus" had died on June 28, a spokeswoman for Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital said.
The strain of coronavirus, called MERS-CoV, was first discovered in 2012 in a man in Saudi Arabia.
Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Tunisia, Britain and Italy have also reported infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In its latest report on the virus on June 26, the WHO said it had been informed of 77 "laboratory-confirmed" cases of infection, including 40 deaths since September.
Those infected were either in the Middle East or had recently returned from the region.
The Qatari man, who has not been named, had been admitted to a hospital in Doha in September and was transferred to Britain a few days later. Prior to becoming ill he had travelled to Saudi Arabia.//DPA
