Severe Respiratory Illness Associated With a Novel Coronavirus — Saudi Arabia and Qatar, 2012

Abstract

CDC is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to better understand the public health risk presented by a recently detected, novel coronavirus. This virus has been identified in two patients, both previously healthy adults who suffered severe respiratory illness. The first patient, a man aged 60 years from Saudi Arabia, was hospitalized in June 2012 and died; the second patient, a man aged 49 years from Qatar with onset of symptoms in September 2012 was transported to the United Kingdom for intensive care. He remains hospitalized on life support with both pulmonary and renal failure. Person-to-person or health-care-associated transmission has not been identified to date. Interim case definitions based on acute respiratory illness and travel history were issued by WHO on September 29 and include criteria for "patient under investigation," "probable case," and "confirmed case". This information is current as of October 4. Updates on the investigation and the WHO case definition are available at http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/index.html.