Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health has urged more than three million people with diabetes in the kingdom to stay away from camels, a report said.

The warning also applies to those receiving immunity-decreasing medicines such as cortisone, those undergoing cancer treatment or organ implant surgeries, said the Arab News report.

The precaution is aimed at avoiding coronavirus infection, said Deputy Health Minister Dr Ziad Mishmish. However, the way the virus transfers to humans is not clear yet.

The warning comes in compliance with WHO advisory which recommended people with chronic illness not to come in contact with camels, the report said.

WHO urged people to wash their hands well in the case of making contact with camels, especially their liquid secretions.
Studies have shown that 74 percent to 99 percent of camels carry the Coronavirus.Two more Mers-Cov cases reported in Saudi

Meanwhile, two additional laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV) infection have been reported in Saudi Arabia, a World Health Organisation statement said.

The patients included a 22-year-old man from the Eastern Region, who became ill on February 3, was hospitalised on February 9 and died on February 12.  The patient had an underlying medical condition, it said.

The second patient was a 67-year-old man from Riyadh, who became ill January 23 and was hospitalised on January 25. He also had an underlying medical condition.

The WHO has been informed of a total of 184 laboratory-confirmed case of Mers-Cov infection, including 80 deaths, it added.

Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns, it said.