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Mers death toll hits 81 in Saudi Arabia; 17 new cases

The 17 new cases, announced late on Monday on the Health Ministry website, bring the total number of Saudi infections to 261, of whom 81 have died.

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Saudi Arabia has discovered another 17 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), as the total number of confirmed infections of the Sars-like disease has jumped by a third in the kingdom in the past week.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, replaced health minister Abdullah Al Rabeeah on Monday amid growing public disquiet at the spread of the disease.
The 17 new cases, announced late on Monday on the Health Ministry website, bring the total number of Saudi infections to 261, of whom 81 have died.
Seven of the 17 new cases were in Jeddah. Six were in Riyadh, including one who died, while three were in holy city of Madinah and one was in the northern city of Tabuk.
Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, who has been appointed as acting health minister, was shown in several newspapers on Tuesday touring one of the main hospitals in Jeddah, a display that seemed aimed at countering accusations from some Saudis on social media that the authorities had not taken the situation seriously enough.

• Saudi Arabia