Dr. Ziad Al-Memish, undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, said that all six suspected cases were from the Eastern Province.
He said that one of the six patients has already been discharged from the hospital while the remaining five are kept under observation.
The number of the infected cases in the Kingdom since September have reached 26.
Fifteen victims have died since the outbreak of the deadly disease. Nine deaths occurred in Al-Ahsa.
The virus can be passed between humans following prolonged contact. The new virus is called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Dr. Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist at the University of Auckland, told a London-based newspaper that a feature of disease was that “the majority of infections have occurred within health care facilities, such as hospitals, as has just been reported in France.
Those people were in hospital for a reason though, suggesting that some underlying disease may be required to make people more vulnerable to infection with the coronavirus.”
Transmission of the disease is thought to be limited.
Al-Memish said the government has hired American and Canadian experts to help control the disease. The specialists are working in coordination with the National Committee of Infectious Diseases.
The committee, headed by Al-Memish, is composed of consultants from the local universities and various health agencies across the Kingdom. It is tasked to make scientific recommendations about the disease.
The virus has reached Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, but no further incidences have been reported.
“No new cases of the virus were found in any other part of the Kingdom,” Al-Memish said.
In an earlier statement, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said high temperature, cough and severe pneumonia affecting both lungs are the main symptoms of the disease.
“The way of transmission and source of the virus are still unknown. Serious efforts are being made for further research, survey and study; to inform the people ways to tackle the deadly disease,” the minister said.
