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Case Reports
. 2013 Jun 27;368(26):2487-94.
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1303729. Epub 2013 May 29.

Family cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections

Ziad A Memish  1 , Alimuddin I Zumla, Rafat F Al-Hakeem, Abdullah A Al-Rabeeah, Gwen M Stephens
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Free article
Case Reports

Family cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections

Ziad A Memish et al. N Engl J Med. .
Free article

Erratum in

  • N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 8;369(6):587

Abstract

A human coronavirus, called the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), was first identified in September 2012 in samples obtained from a Saudi Arabian businessman who died from acute respiratory failure. Since then, 49 cases of infections caused by MERS-CoV (previously called a novel coronavirus) with 26 deaths have been reported to date. In this report, we describe a family case cluster of MERS-CoV infection, including the clinical presentation, treatment outcomes, and household relationships of three young men who became ill with MERS-CoV infection after the hospitalization of an elderly male relative, who died of the disease. Twenty-four other family members living in the same household and 124 attending staff members at the hospitals did not become ill. MERS-CoV infection may cause a spectrum of clinical illness. Although an animal reservoir is suspected, none has been discovered. Meanwhile, global concern rests on the ability of MERS-CoV to cause major illness in close contacts of patients.

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