HEALTH HEADLINES

Man returned from Jordan is Italy's 1st confirmed case of new coronavirus

The Associated Press Published Saturday, June 1, 2013 1:28PM EDT

An electron microscope image of a coronavirus, provided by the British Health Protection Agency, is shown. The virus is part of a family of viruses that cause ailments, including the common cold and SARS, and was first identified last year in the Middle East. (Health Protection Agency)

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ROME - Italy's health ministry has confirmed the country's first case of a new respiratory virus that is alarming global health officials.

The patient is a 45-year-old man recently back from a 40-day visit to Jordan. The ministry says he was in good condition and being treated Saturday for the coronavirus in a hospital in Tuscany.

The virus is related to SARS, which killed about 800 people in a 2003 global epidemic. The UN health agency says it has been informed of 51 confirmed cases of the new virus since September. Thirty of those cases were fatal, including that of a Frenchman who died earlier in the week. Cases in Britain and Germany also have been reported.

Most of those infected had travelled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan.