New death from Sars-like virus in Saudi: WHO

GENEVA (AFP) - Another person suffering from a Sars-like virus has died in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday, bringing the worldwide number of fatalities from the mystery illness to seven.

The Saudi health ministry had informed the United Nations' health body that the patient had been hospitalised on Jan 29 and had died on Feb 10, WHO said in a statement.

A laboratory had confirmed on Feb 18 that the person had died from the so-called novel coronavirus, or NCoV, it added.

This brings to 13 the number of cases of the virus that have so far been reported to the WHO since it was first detected in the middle of last year, with six previous fatalities - three in Saudi Arabia, two in Jordan and one in Britain.