REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- A lung specialist of a general hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, said here on Tuesday that a patient at the hospital is suspected to have died of the MERS coronavirus.

"The patient died around 1.30pm on Sunday after being admitted at 12.00 hours," Prof Dr Luhur Soeroso SpP told reporters.

He said the 54-year-old patient, known by his initials KS, had received intensive treatment in a ward used to treat bird flu patients.

"KS is suspected to have had MERS because of the symptoms he suffered, including breathing difficulties and fever," he said.

KS arrived in the country on Saturday (May 3) after conducting a minor Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, where the disease originated.

Besides Saudi Arabia the virus has also infected people in Oman. Therefore, many people in these countries have contracted the disease, he said.

Soeroso said the patient in his hospital fell ill on Wednesday (April 30) while he was in Saudi Arabia.

On his arrival at Kuala Namu airport on Saturday, he was immediately taken to the airport's polyclinic and later to Permata Bunda hospital, before being referred to the H Adam Malik general hospital.

The patient's family did not allow the H Adam Malik hospital's doctors to take his saliva's sample for laboratory testing to help diagnose whether he indeed suffered from MERS, Prof Soeroso said.

The Ministry of Health has already issued a warning to the people, especially those on a minor Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, to be alert about the MERS-CoV infection.

"They have all been notified, including the would-be minor Hajj pilgrims and travel agents," health minister Nafsiah Mboi said recently.

The minister remarked that all airport health centers have also been provided with equipment to monitor the body temperature of passengers arriving from abroad, especially from the Arab countries where such cases have been reported.

"In case the symptoms are detected, check immediately. The faster one reports the case the better it will be, as it will help to control the virus from spreading further. Don't forget to tell the health worker if you have just arrived from an Arab country," she reiterated.

An Indonesian citizen has died of MERS-CoV in Mecca but no case has been found in Indonesia yet.

If KS is confirmed to have died of the MERS virus, it would be the first known case in the country.

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