Severe acute respiratory syndrome

A third patient who is believed to be infected with the new coronavirus has been hospitalized in Singapore, TASS reported.

The Ministry of Health stated that the 69-year-old man had been hospitalized and quarantined. He is in stable condition.

Japan has confirmed the first case of infection from the new coronavirus that been reported in China. This was announced on Thursday at a press conference in Tokyo by a representative of the Ministry of Health.

A 61-year-old man has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan after an outbreak of a yet to be identified virus while seven others are in critical condition, the Wuhan health authorities said on Jan. 11.   

A cluster of more than 50 pneumonia cases in China's central city of Wuhan may be due to a newly emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the deadly SARS and MERS outbreaks, World Health Organization (WHO) said on Jan. 8.   

Hong Kong authorities activated a newly created "serious response" level on Jan. 4 as fears spread about a mysterious infectious disease that may have been brought back by visitors to a mainland Chinese city.

South Korea announced on Dec. 23 the official end to a deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that killed 36 people and sparked widespread panic in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Thousands of South Korean schools that were shut to stop the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reopened on June 15 as the country sought to return to normal, nearly four weeks into an outbreak that shows signs of slowing. 

South Korea confirmed three more MERS cases May 29, bringing the total number of patients infected with the potentially deadly virus to 10, including a man who defied a quarantine protocol and travelled to China, health officials said.

Researchers said June 4 they have found the first direct evidence that the potentially deadly Middle East respiratory virus, or MERS, jumps directly from camels to humans.

The virus has hit Saudi Arabia the hardest, killing 282 people out of 688 infected, according to the latest figures.

The 69-year-old Greek man who contracted the potentially fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) while working in Saudi Arabia remains in a critical condition in an Athens hospital almost three weeks after being admitted for treatment.