A Korean man suspected to have contracted a new coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome died in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, a day after he was hospitalized for a severe fever, health officials in Seoul said Tuesday.

MERS is part of a coronavirus family that, like SARS, can cause cold-like symptoms.

The 53-year-old man, who worked at an aluminum factory construction site, died of vasodilatory shock, renal failure, breathing problems and acute pneumonia, according to doctors in the Middle Eastern country.

The Korean Health Ministry plans to dispatch a team of doctors to confirm the cause of death and recommended the Foreign Ministry to limit entry of other Koreans who worked or stayed with the man.

MERS has killed 46 of the 94 people confirmed infected since September last year, according to the World Health Organization. Currently there is no treatment or cure for the mysterious virus.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)