Biosecurity

Coronavirus in Middle East: What you need to know

The new coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the Middle East, with cases recorded in at least nine countries in the region - six of them reported their first infections in the past week.

Officially known as COVID-19, the disease has spread to 34 countries and killed more than 2,600 people globally, the vast majority in China where the virus first emerged in late December.

Outside China, Iran has the largest number of deaths, with at least 15 dying from the virus within a week - a development the World Health Organization (WHO) has called "deeply concerning".

The virus - for which there is no vaccine yet - causes mild disease in four out of five infected people. However, it can be fatal for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

As governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) scramble to contain the spread of the infection, experts are expressing concern over the region's capability to handle the outbreak because of war, conflict and weak health systems in some countries.