Man returning from Saudi Arabia is first Dutch patient of MERS virus

[May 14, 2014]  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — A man returning to the Netherlands from Saudi Arabia has been admitted to hospital with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, a Dutch health official said.

The man was admitted to a hospital in The Hague, a spokesman for the National Institute for Public Health said on Wednesday. He is the first Dutch person known to be affected.

The virus, which causes coughing, fever and sometimes fatal pneumonia, has been reported in more than 500 patients in Saudi Arabia alone and has spread to neighboring countries and in a few cases, to Europe, Asia and the United States.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Alison Williams)

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