19 June 2014 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau
MERS has victimized 23 countries so far, with no signs of treatment so far
Singapore: The Indonesian Health Ministry has confirmed that an Indonesian man who went on an Umrah pilgrimage, has tested positive for the deadly virus in Abu Dhabi.
The victim, who is a resident of Surabaya in East Java is suspected to have contracted the infection during the pilgrimage to Saudi.
The Ministry spokesperson, Mr Muhammad Subhan said that the man was under intensive treatment in Abu Dhabi. He pointed out that the victim would not be allowed to return to his homeland, until he is completely cured of the virus.
Mr Subhan added that Indonesia was relatively free of MERS and till now no cases have been registered. The Health Ministry had so far detected 169 suspected cases of MERS-CoV, out of which 161 had been declared negative, while the other eight were being monitored.
The surging MERS cases shows no signs of abating with the disease now reported in 23 countries.