BERLIN, June 16 (Reuters) - A 65-year-old German man who wasinfected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virusearlier this year has died in hospital, the health ministry ofthe German state of Lower Saxony said on Tuesday.
The man died in the town of Ostercappeln, north-west Germanyon June 6 from complications stemming from the virus, theministry said in a statement.
It is the first German death from the MERS virus, whichemerged in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same familyas the SARS virus. It can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia.
The man is believed to have been infected with the viruswhile visiting an animal market on the Arabian Peninsula inFebruary, the ministry said.
It said there were no indications he had infected others,having tested 200 people and found them all negative for thevirus.
The virus has infected over 150 people in South Korea andkilled 19 of them since it was first diagnosed on May 20 in abusinessman who had returned from a trip to the Middle East. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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