Patient dies from SARS-like virus in Britain

A person suffering from a SARS-like virus has died in Britain, hospital officials said on Tuesday, becoming the sixth fatality from the illness worldwide.

The patient was being treated for so-called novel coronavirus at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, and died on Sunday, the hospital said.

The victim was one of three people in the same family with the virus, which appeared to have been caught by one of the family members during a recent visit to the Middle East and Pakistan.

"A patient being treated for novel coronavirus at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham has died. The patient passed away on Sunday morning in the hospital's critical care unit," the hospital said in a statement to AFP.

The patient had previous underlying health issues, it added.

The World Health Organisation on Saturday urged countries to be vigilant over the spread of the virus.

A total of 12 cases of the virus have so far been reported to the WHO with five previous fatalities -- three in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan.