Report: First suspected coronavirus case in Kuwait
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Kuwait City - The Gulf state of Kuwait has seen its first case of the MERS coronavirus, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.
The victim was in a grave condition in a local hospital, the Al-Rai newspaper quoted medical sources as saying. It added that the doctor in charge of the case was suspected of having been infected.
The report did not indicate whether laboratory tests had confirmed the presence of MERS.
The World Health Organization on Monday announced that the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the MERS coronavirus since September last year stood at 153, including 64 deaths.
MERS triggers flu-like symptoms and can lead to kidney failure and severe pneumonia.
Most cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, with smaller concentrations in other Gulf countries. There have also been cases in Europe and North Africa linked to travellers returning from the region.
Around 800 people died of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), also a form of coronavirus, ten years ago.//DPA
