Recombinomics Commentary 18:15
May 20, 2013
according to a statement from the Ministry of Health
published in the day Monday, May 20, 2013. The victim of this virus is a 66 year
old man who died at the hospital Fatuma Bourguiba in Monastir, after his trip to
Saudi Arabia and Qatar.May 20, 2013
The above translation describes a confirmed MERS-CoV fatality (66M) in Tunisia (see map) who developed symptoms after travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Qatar. Additional reports cite coronavirus confirmation in one or two sons, although it is unclear if these cases are also in Tunisia or the Middle East.
Although confirmed onward transmission in Tunisia is unclear, the export of MERS-CoV from Saudi Arabia or Qatar represents the third confirmed example of spread via commercial airline. The earlier SARS-like clusters in England and France involved onward transmission, raising concerns that MERS-CoV is far more common in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa than the reported confirmed cases.More information on this cluster, including age, gender, disease onset dates and locations would be useful.
