Epidemiology
See also: 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak
Saudi Arabia
MERS was also implicated in an outbreak in April 2014 in Saudi Arabia, where MERS has infected 688 people and 282 MERS-related deaths have been reported since 2012.In response to newly reported cases and deaths, and the resignation of four doctors at Jeddah’s King Fahd Hospital who refused to treat MERS patients for fear of infection, the government has removed the Minister of Health and set up three MERS treatment centers.18 more cases were reported in early May.In June 2014, Saudi Arabia announced 113 previously unreported cases of MERS, revising the death toll to 282.
A hospital-related outbreak in Riyadh in the summer of 2015 increased fears of an epidemic occurring during the annual Hajj pilgrimage that begins in late September. After a period of few cases, cases began increasing in the middle of the summer.The CDC placed the travel health alert to level 2, which calls for taking enhanced precautions.