MERS Virus kills an Indian worker in Saudi Arabia |

An Indian worker has died in Saudi Arabia after contracting MERS corona virus and his family is reluctant to repatriate the remains back home amid fears that they might get infected if they came in contact with the body.

Dasharati Sattaih from Telangana, who was working in Jeddah with a leading maintenance company, contracted the virus and died on June 20 this year, the Arab News reported.

The family was informed of Sattaih’s death but was also given misleading information about the virus by relatives in India. They reportedly warned them to be cautious as they could be infected with the disease if they touched the body, the paper said, citing its sources.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is viral respiratory illness. The people suffering from the infection develop severe acute respiratory illness. They have fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

The WHO has recorded 837 confirmed MERS infections with at least 291 deaths. Most cases have occurred in Saudi Arabia.

In another incident, an Indian from Punjab, Akrim Singh, died after a prolonged illness in Jeddah.

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