The mysterious outbreak of a deadly new virus in the Middle East does not rank as a global health emergency, it was decided yesterday.
Representatives of eight countries affected by the virus, including the UK, France and Germany, called for other countries to remain vigilant to the threat posed by MERS-CoV.
The coronavirus has emerged in Saudi Arabia and has proved highly infectious in at least one health facility.
So far 45 deaths have been linked to the virus, which causes a kind of pneumonia and another 37 infections have been identified.
World Health Organisation officials have called it the most serious threat facing the world because of its potential to be highly infectious.
However yesterday its emergency committee said the virus did not yet rank as a "public health emergency of international concern."
But it ruled the emergence of the virus is "serious and of great concern."
The committee is due to meet again in September but WHO said it would reconvene if there was any new unexpected turn of events.
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