The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed two previously reported Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases in Saudi Arabia, both of them fatal, as media reports suggested that concern about the virus has helped reduce the flow of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca.

The WHO said two men who lived in the Riyadh area, ages 55 and 78, fell ill at the end of September and died early this month. They were reported to have had no contact with other known MERS-CoV case-patients.

The details in the WHO statement match up with information from a translated Oct 10 announcement from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH).

The two cases raise the WHO's MERS-CoV count to 138 cases and 60 deaths. Other agencies and groups, however, list slightly higher numbers.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said via Twitter today that two other reported fatal cases are still awaiting confirmation. He made the comment in response to a question from the infectious-disease message board FluTrackers, which maintains a list of MERS-CoV cases.

The FluTrackers list currently shows 143 cases and 62 deaths. It notes that that it includes two Italian cases that the WHO dropped from its own list in September after reclassifying them.

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), in its weekly Communicable Disease Threats Report today, listed a MERS-CoV count of 141 cases with 62 deaths. It said Saudi Arabia reported two new cases in the week that ended Oct 10 and has logged a total of 119 cases with 51 deaths.

As for the Hajj, now under way, Saudi Arabia's interior minister said the number of foreign pilgrims is 1,379,531, down 21% from last year's 1.75 million, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report today.

The minister did not give a number for Saudis participating in the Hajj, but Saudi numbers are believed to be only half what they were a year ago, the story said. It said the government cut the quota for foreign pilgrims by 20% this year because of both MERS-CoV concerns and massive projects to expand the capacity of Mecca's Grand Mosque.

Saudi Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabia told reporters 2 days ago that no MERS cases have been detected so far among pilgrims. The WHO's Hartl said in his Twitter post that one case was found in a pilgrim, but it was not recent.

The Saudi MOH has recommended that elderly people, pregnant women, children, and people with chronic diseases or immune deficiency not attend the Hajj this year.

See also:

Oct 14 WHO statement

Oct 14 ECDC report