Iran reportedly has suffered its first fatality from the Middle Eastern respiratory virus (MERS).
Reports by state media on May 29 about the death come a day after the first cases in Iran were publicized.
The IRNA news agency quoted Health Ministry official Mohammad Mahdi Gouya as saying the virus killed a 53-year-old woman in the southeastern city of Kerman.
On May 28, the daily newspaper "Hamshahri" quoted Gouya as saying two sisters in Kerman had contracted MERS.
It was not immediately clear how the women became infected. Authorities did not give further details.
The virus, first reported in Saudi Arabia, has seen cases spread across the world since its discovery two years ago.
The World Health Organization said on May 28 that it has documented 636 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS worldwide, including 193 deaths.
Reports by state media on May 29 about the death come a day after the first cases in Iran were publicized.
The IRNA news agency quoted Health Ministry official Mohammad Mahdi Gouya as saying the virus killed a 53-year-old woman in the southeastern city of Kerman.
On May 28, the daily newspaper "Hamshahri" quoted Gouya as saying two sisters in Kerman had contracted MERS.
It was not immediately clear how the women became infected. Authorities did not give further details.
The virus, first reported in Saudi Arabia, has seen cases spread across the world since its discovery two years ago.
The World Health Organization said on May 28 that it has documented 636 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS worldwide, including 193 deaths.