A 69-year-old Greek is being hospitalized in intensive care unit of an Athens hospital after he got infected with the fatal corona-virus MERS while in Saudi Arabia. Together with his wife the man arrived last week in Athens with a flight from Jeddah. The couple used a taxi to go home in Amphiali suburb of Piraeus. Extensive medical tests confirmed that neither the patients’ wife nor the cab driver had contracted the disease.
The cabbie was tracked down by health authorities on Monday amid fears that he may have been infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a respiratory illness similar to SARS, which has claimed 93 lives since 2012, mostly in Saudi Arabia.
The taxi driver drove a 69-year-old man on Thursday from Athens International Airport to Keratsini, a suburb of Piraeus. The 69-year-old Greek, who lives and works in Saudi Arabia, was visiting relatives for the Easter holiday when he displayed signs of the infection.
He is currently under quarantine in critical condition at the Sotiria Hospital in northern Athens.
Health authorities are also conducting tests on some 50 people who came into contact with the 69-year-old, mostly fellow passengers and crew members working on his flight.
MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. (ekathimerini)
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said Tuesday that there was no risk of virus spread as the patient was very quickly isolated. Also the second driver who transferred the patient to the hospital was found to be negative on corona-virus.
Treatment for corona-virus is done with some medication in experimental level and a cocktail of anti-virus and antibiotics.
Officials at the Hellenic Center for Disease Control & Prevention (KEELPNO) are keeping a close eye on the 69-year-old patient and have issued a warning to people traveling to and from the Arabian Peninsula to be vigilant of any signs of MERS, which first appears as the flu.
More information on the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) here.
