Jordan on Sunday reported a new case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infection that has been spreading throughout the region, the state-run Petra news agency said.

The case for a man in his late 50s was the third reported in Jordan in less than a week, the Mohammad Abdullat, head of communicable diseases department at the Health Ministry , said in a statement on Sunday.

The new cases increase the number of overall cases registered in Jordan since 2012 when the disease first appeared to date to 17, he said.

The MERS outbreak has caused panic throughout the region over the past few years, prompting many governments to launch awareness campaigns and precautionary measures in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

Saudi Arabia was the hardest hit country, where hundreds of people were infected and many died.