title: Middle East respiratory syndrome: what clinicians need to know.
abstract: A severe viral illness caused by a newly discovered coronavirus was first reported in the Middle East in 2012. The virus has since been named the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS-CoV cases have been reported in several countries around the world in travelers from the Middle East. The illness has a high mortality rate. Limited human-to-human transmission has occurred including transmission to health care workers. The source of the virus remains unclear, but camels are a possible source. Two unrelated imported cases of MERS-CoV have been reported in the United States. Neither a vaccine nor effective therapy against the virus is available. International cooperation and information sharing will be key to understanding and ending the MERS-CoV outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Electronic address: sampathkumar.priya@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sampathkumar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014943:Global Health; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States