The picture shows Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) seen under an electron microscope.
Saudi Arabiaâ„¢s Ministry of Health says four more people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, raising the death toll from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-like virus in the country to 32.
The ministry said on its website that the MERS virus claimed the lives of two people in the western city of Taif and the other two died in Eastern Province.
It also announced three more confirmed cases of infected people in Eastern Province, the capital Riyadh, and the western city of Jeddah.
The ministry stated that a total number of 49 cases of MERS infections have been reported in the kingdom since September 2012.
Cases have been also reported in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Italy, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom.
Health officials are trying to find out how humans are contracting the virus in a bid to find the best remedy to it.
MERS is a cousin of SARS. The virus first emerged in the Middle East, and was discovered on September 2012 in a Qatari man who had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia.
It does not appear to be as contagious as SARS, which killed some 800 people in a 2003 epidemic.
MERS is most closely related to a bat virus. Scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.
The WHO has advised countries to test any people with unexplained pneumonia.
IA/AS
This article originally appeared on: Press TV