Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Update

So what’s the status of MERS virus and MERS virus in the US? First reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, the corona virus MERS spreads from infected people through close contact, such as caring for or living with an infected person. There is no evidence of sustained spreading in community settings. It causes a severe, acute respiratory illness with fever, cough, shortness of breath. The majority of disease is seen in the Arabian peninsula, with >900 people sickened and >300 killed.

In the US, there were 2 confirmed cases of MERS in 2014. Two unrelated health care workers, who had recently been working in Saudi Arabia, were hospitalized and later discharged. No person-to-person transmission has been documented in the US.

Why is MERS virus in the Arabian peninsula? Recent research at Colorado State University (CSU) indicates that camels shed large quantities of the virus, making them a likely suspect for spreading the pathogen to humans. Camels are commonly kept as pets and modes of transportation throughout the Middle East. There’s still no effective intervention for preventing the spread of the virus other than hygiene precautions and avoiding contact with infected individuals. Dromedary camels become infected with the MERS virus, the animals become ill, shed high levels of the pathogen through their noses, and then recover in about a week. Obviously, contact with camels may be a key contributing factor to an outbreak. A vaccine against MERS virus will be tested in sick camels at CSU this year to see if it can prevent shedding of the pathogen.

Read The Scientist article HERE. 

Visit the CDC Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) website HERE.