Cases of new coronavirus rises to 17, number of deaths is 11

Mar 28 2013

"The deadly and mysterious coronavirus that first appeared in Saudi Arabia last year has claimed two more victims, bringing the official death toll to 11," and the case count to 17, the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports. "The 17 patients identified so far are just the 'tip of the iceberg,' [Peter Katona, a clinical professor of medicine and infectious diseases at UCLA,] said," according to the blog. "There are probably countless other cases of infection in which people didn't die, or they died from something as common as pneumonia, so no one bothers to identify the virus, he added," the blog writes (Serna, 3/26). "The new coronavirus is part of a group of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. In 2003, a global outbreak of SARS killed about 800 people worldwide," the Associated Press writes, noting, "The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection" (3/26).