Coronaviruses are of emerging concern. From the SARS outbreak to the current threat of MERS coronaviruses are definitely pathogens of concern. What are coronaviruses and specifically MERS-CoV? Coronaviruses are positive sense RNA viruses that have bulbous projections that appear like the solar corona. Coronaviruses have the largest genome of the RNA viruses. Upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts can be infected by coronaviruses. MERS-CoV was identified in 2012 as the cause of a respiratory illness in people. Discovery of this virus makes it the sixth coronavirus known to infect humans. MERS-CoV is like the SARS-CoV in that it also involves the lower respiratory tract and is a cause of severe acute respiratory disease.
Current reports are that the MERS-CoV has out of 55 cases 31 patients died. Whether this is from underreporting of mild cases or increased virulence is unknown. Symptoms start with cold or flu like respiratory symptoms. Like SARS-CoV, the MERS-CoV progresses to severe acute respiratory disease. Currently all cases are like to four Middle East countries: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and UAE. Travelers to these countries have also shown MERS-CoV. Close contacts have also presented with MERS-CoV indicating that it is transferable from person to person. Ease of transmission is currently unknown. In France, at least one case of nosocomial infection was reported. It is important to remember that though this is a rare it has the potential to become an important pathogen with high mortality rates and unknown transmission rates.
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