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MERS coronavirus infection kills one in Iran

29 May 2014 19:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iran registered the country's first death of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infection on Thursday, state TV IRIB reported, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The victim, a 53-year-old woman, had suffered from high blood pressure and some other chronic diseases, which weakened her immune system against the virus, the station reported, quoting Mohammad-Mehdi Gooya, head of the Center for Contagious Disease Control in Iran's southeastern Kerman city.

Earlier this week, Iran confirmed its first two MERS infection cases, a deadly virus first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The other infected patient has been released from hospital following improved conditions, Gooya said.

MERS is caused by a coronavirus called MERS-CoV. Most infected patients develop severe acute respiratory illnesses, showing symptoms of fever, coughing and shortness of breath.