title: Middle East respiratory syndrome.
abstract: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a highly lethal respiratory disease caused by a novel single-stranded, positive-sense RNA betacoronavirus (MERS-CoV). Dromedary camels, hosts for MERS-CoV, are implicated in direct or indirect transmission to human beings, although the exact mode of transmission is unknown. The virus was first isolated from a patient who died from a severe respiratory illness in June, 2012, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of May 31, 2015, 1180 laboratory-confirmed cases (483 deaths; 40% mortality) have been reported to WHO. Both community-acquired and hospital-acquired cases have been reported with little human-to-human transmission reported in the community. Although most cases of MERS have occurred in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cases have been reported in Europe, the USA, and Asia in people who travelled from the Middle East or their contacts. Clinical features of MERS range from asymptomatic or mild disease to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan failure resulting in death, especially in individuals with underlying comorbidities. No specific drug treatment exists for MERS and infection prevention and control measures are crucial to prevent spread in health-care facilities. MERS-CoV continues to be an endemic, low-level public health threat. However, the virus could mutate to have increased interhuman transmissibility, increasing its pandemic potential.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alimuddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zumla
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. Electronic address: stanley-perlman@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perlman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002162:Camelus / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D058872:Epidemics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D055815:Young Adult