The Middle East respiratory syndrome--how worried should we be?

Stanley Perlman

doi:10.1128/mBio.00531-13

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The Middle East respiratory syndrome--how worried should we be?

Journal article

Open access

The Middle East respiratory syndrome--how worried should we be?

Stanley Perlman

mBio, Vol.4(4), e00531-13

08/20/2013

DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00531-13

PMCID: PMC3747588

PMID: 23963179

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Abstract

Ten years after the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, a second coronavirus, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), has been identified as the cause of a highly lethal pneumonia in patients in the Middle East and in travelers from this region. Over the past 9 months, since the virus was first isolated, much has been learned about the biology of the virus. It is now clear that MERS-CoV is transmissible from person to person, and its close relationship with several bat coronaviruses suggests that these animals may be the ultimate source of the infection. However, many key issues need to be addressed, including identification of the proximate, presumably zoonotic, source of the infection, the prevalence of the infection in human populations, details regarding clinical and pathological features of the human infection, the establishment of a small rodent model for the infection, and the virological and immune basis for the severe disease observed in most patients. Most importantly, we do not know whether a MERS-CoV epidemic is likely or not. Infection with the virus has so far resulted in only 91 cases and 46 deaths (as of 29 July 2013), but it is nonetheless setting off alarm bells among public health officials, including Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, who called MERS-CoV "a threat to the entire world." This article reviews some of the progress that has been made and discusses some of the questions that need to be answered.

Coronavirus - pathogenicity

Prevalence

Humans

Pneumonia, Viral - pathology

Coronavirus Infections - mortality

Zoonoses - virology

Middle East - epidemiology

Zoonoses - pathology

Animals

Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology

Coronavirus Infections - virology

Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology

Disease Outbreaks

Zoonoses - epidemiology

Coronavirus Infections - pathology

Pneumonia, Viral - mortality

Zoonoses - mortality

Pneumonia, Viral - virology

Coronavirus - isolation & purification

Details

Title: Subtitle: The Middle East respiratory syndrome--how worried should we be?
Creators: Stanley Perlman - Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. Stanley-perlman@uiowa.edu
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: mBio, Vol.4(4), e00531-13
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00531-13
PMID: 23963179
PMCID: PMC3747588
NLM abbreviation: mBio
ISSN: 2161-2129
eISSN: 2150-7511
Publisher: United States
Grant note: AI091322 / NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI091322 / NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI060699 / NIAID NIH HHS AI060699 / NIAID NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 08/20/2013
Academic Unit: Microbiology and Immunology; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Infectious Disease (Pediatrics)
Record Identifier: 9983777351202771

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