Villagers quarantined as first death from Mers virus hits Malaysia
64 villagers in isolation after neighbour dies of Sars-like virus after pilgrimage to Mecca
Malaysia has quarantined 64 people in a southern village after one of its residents become the country's first person to die of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The first fatality in Muslim-majority Malaysia - a 54-year-old man - died in hospital in the southern state of Johor on Sunday. He had developed a fever, cough and breathing difficulties after returning from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on March 29.
Health authorities screened about 100 people from the man's village, Kampung Bintang, in Johor to check for more infections, The Star newspaper said, quoting Ayub Rahmat, a state lawmaker in charge of health.
Sixty-four will be quarantined for a week after showing possible Mers symptoms.
"This is the first such case in Malaysia and we take this matter seriously. That is why we are taking steps to screen the villagers to prevent the virus from spreading," Ayub was quoting as saying.
Officials in the Philippines meanwhile asked more than 400 passengers who shared an airline flight with a man infected with the Mers virus to check in with the health department immediately.