WHO issues global alert over new virus

The World Health Organisation has put out a global alert after two men were struck down with a previously unknown virus related to the deadly Sars infection and the common cold.

The UN health body’s alert comes after a 49-year-old Qatari man, affected by the virus, is critically ill in a hospital in Britain following a recent trip to Saudi Arabia -- where it said a second patient with an almost identical virus had already died.

A senior British health official said there was no immediate cause for concern although experts were watching out for any signs of the virus spreading.

Any suggestions of a link between the virus and Saudi Arabia will cause particular concern in the build-up to next month’s Haj, when millions of people arrive in the kingdom from across the world, then return to their homes