Health advice has been issued to passengers who were travelling on board a BA flight with a suspected case of the Mers respiratory virus on board.

Public Health England revealed that a passenger on the flight from Riyadh, which passed through Heathrow on 24 April, had been admitted to a US hospital.

Public Health England described the risk of infection as being “extremely low”.

Over 100 people infected with Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome) have died since an outbreak began in 2012, according to reports.

Mers belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and Sars, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The infected man stopped at Heathrow before travelling on to Chicago.  Symptoms can result in fever, pneumonia and kidney failure.