Algeria has reported its first two cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), better known as the MERS virus.

In a statement released on Saturday, Algeria's Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform said the two men, aged 66 and 59, were pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia.

According to the statement, the first victim showed the early symptoms of the disease including fever and a breathing disorder and the second one suffered from a respiratory difficulty and digestive problems while in Saudi Arabia.

The two men are receiving the necessary medical care at the hospitals of their respective hometowns.

The appearance of the Coronavirus in Algeria comes as other countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, have already reported similar cases.

The incurable disease causes coughing, fever, pneumonia, lung infections, breathing difficulties and rapid kidney failure.

MERS is a cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The virus first emerged in the Middle East, and was discovered in September 2012 in a Qatari man who had traveled to Saudi Arabia. Since then, it has claimed 187 lives in the Arab country.

The virus does not appear to be as contagious as SARS, which killed some 800 people, mostly Chinese, in a 2003 epidemic.

While no travel restrictions have been announced, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments to make sure necessary measures have been implemented in all health-care facilities in order to prevent and control the infection.