(VOVworld) - Chinese and American scientists have jointly developed a new antibody called m336 targeting the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, which has killed 16 people and landed 150 others in hospital.

South Korean officials announced three more deaths in the country's MERS outbreak (photo:bdnews24)

 Tests on animals have seen effective results. The research team said this m336 antibody could neutralize MERS virus more effectively than other antibodies and called for an immediate clinical trial.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced two more MERS fatalities, one new MERS case, raising the total number of MERS infected cases to 1300, 456 of which have died.

The same day, South Korean officials announced three more deaths in the country's MERS outbreak, raising the total death toll to 19. Four new cases of MERS were also announced, bringing the total number to 154, 17 of them were successfully treated and left hospital. Three of the four new patients were infected while visiting Seoul's Samsung Medical Center, which has been a major source of infections.