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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: Emergence of a Pathogenic Human Coronavirus
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: Emergence of a Pathogenic Human Coronavirus

Anthony R Fehr, Rudragouda Channappanavar and Stanley Perlman
Annual Review of Medicine, Vol.68(1), pp.387-399
01/14/2017
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-med-051215-031152
PMCID: PMC5353356
PMID: 27576010
url
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-051215-031152View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

In 2012, a zoonotic coronavirus was identified as the causative agent of Middle East respiratory syndrome and was named MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). As of August 11, 2016, the virus has infected 1,791 patients, with a mortality rate of 35.6%. Although MERS-CoV generally causes subclinical or mild disease, infection can result in serious outcomes, including acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ failure in patients with comorbidities. The virus is endemic in camels in the Arabian Peninsula and Africa and thus poses a consistent threat of frequent reintroduction into human populations. Disease prevalence will increase substantially if the virus mutates to increase human-to-human transmissibility. No therapeutics or vaccines are approved for MERS; thus, development of novel therapies is needed. Further, since many MERS cases are acquired in healthcare settings, public health measures and scrupulous attention to infection control are required to prevent additional MERS outbreaks.
host-virus interactions outbreak animal models antiviral therapies camels immune response

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