New MERS case recorded in Jordan

AMMAN — A new case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus-related infection has been registered in the Kingdom, the Health Ministry said Sunday.

The diagnosed 56-year-old patient suffers from diabetes, blood pressure-related diseases and kidney failure, said Mohammad Abdullat, director of the ministry’s communicable diseases control department.

The patient also recently underwent open-heart surgery, Abdullat added. A team from the directorate is supervising the private hospital’s measures to prevent the spread of the infection and is also following up on the situation of the patient’s relatives and the medical staff who examined him. Since the MERS virus was first registered in Jordan in 2012, 17 cases have been recorded.