The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

doi:10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.001

Review

. 2019 Dec;33(4):891-905.

doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.001.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Esam I Azhar¹, David S C Hui², Ziad A Memish³, Christian Drosten⁴, Alimuddin Zumla⁵

Affiliations

¹ Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: eazhar@kau.edu.sa.
² Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
³ College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine and Research, Prince Mohamed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Institute of Virology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Center for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, Royal Free Campus 2nd Floor, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.

PMID: 31668197
PMCID: PMC7127753
DOI: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.001

Review

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Esam I Azhar et al. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2019 Dec.

. 2019 Dec;33(4):891-905.

doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.001.

Authors

Esam I Azhar¹, David S C Hui², Ziad A Memish³, Christian Drosten⁴, Alimuddin Zumla⁵

Affiliations

¹ Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: eazhar@kau.edu.sa.
² Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
³ College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine and Research, Prince Mohamed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Institute of Virology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Center for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, Royal Free Campus 2nd Floor, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.

PMID: 31668197
PMCID: PMC7127753
DOI: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.001

Abstract

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a novel lethal zoonotic disease of humans caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Although MERS is endemic to the Middle East, travelers have exported MERS-CoV on return to their home countries. Clinical manifestations range from mild to severe acute respiratory disease and death. The elderly, immunocompromised, and those with chronic comorbid liver, lung, and hepatic conditions have a high mortality rate. There is no specific treatment. Person-to-person spread causes hospital and household outbreaks, and thus improved compliance with internationally recommended infection control protocols and rapid implementation of infection control measures are required.

Keywords: Epidemiology diagnosis; MERS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Treatment.

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Figures

**Fig. 1**
Geographic distribution of MERS reported to WHO (2012–2018).

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References

1. WHO Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) 2019. https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ Available at: Accessed June 1, 2019. - PubMed
1. Zumla A., Hui D.S., Perlman S. Middle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2015;386(9997):995–1007. - PMC - PubMed
1. Arabi Y.M., Balkhy H.H., Hayden F.G., et al. Middle East Respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(6):584–594. - PMC - PubMed
1. Zaki A.M., van Boheemen S., Bestebroer T.M., et al. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:1814–1820. - PubMed
1. WHO List of priority Blueprint diseases. https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/en/ Available at: Accessed January 20, 2019.

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[1] WHO Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) 2019. https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ Available at: Accessed June 1, 2019. - PubMed

[2] WHO Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) 2019. https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ Available at: Accessed June 1, 2019. - PubMed

[3] Zumla A., Hui D.S., Perlman S. Middle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2015;386(9997):995–1007. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Zumla A., Hui D.S., Perlman S. Middle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2015;386(9997):995–1007. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Arabi Y.M., Balkhy H.H., Hayden F.G., et al. Middle East Respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(6):584–594. - PMC - PubMed

[6] Arabi Y.M., Balkhy H.H., Hayden F.G., et al. Middle East Respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(6):584–594. - PMC - PubMed

[7] Zaki A.M., van Boheemen S., Bestebroer T.M., et al. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:1814–1820. - PubMed

[8] Zaki A.M., van Boheemen S., Bestebroer T.M., et al. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:1814–1820. - PubMed

[9] WHO List of priority Blueprint diseases. https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/en/ Available at: Accessed January 20, 2019.

[10] WHO List of priority Blueprint diseases. https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/en/ Available at: Accessed January 20, 2019.

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The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

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The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

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