CAIRO, April 27 (UPI) -- Egypt has reported its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, found in a 27-year-old man who had recently spent time in Saudi Arabia.
Since the virus was first identified in 2012, some 300 cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia. About 50 of those cases were reported in the last week alone and the death toll now stands at 92.
Now Egypt is reporting its first case of the virus. The man had been living and working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is now being quarantined at a Cairo hospital.
Indonesia's first case has also been reported after a man who traveled to Saudi Arabia died upon returning home Friday. Other cases have been confirmed in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
MERS causes severe acute respiratory syndrome and features flu-like symptoms including fever and coughing. Sufferers sometimes contract pneumonia. The transmission of the virus is poorly understood and health officials in Saudi Arabia are struggling to halt its spread.
