Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: epidemiology and disease control measures

Abstract

The emergence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in2012 resulted in an increased concern of the spread of the infection globally. MERS-CoVinfection had previously caused multiple health-care-associated outbreaks and resulted intransmission of the virus within families. Community onset MERS-CoV cases continue tooccur. Dromedary camels are currently the most likely animal to be linked to humanMERS-CoV cases. Serologic tests showed significant infection in adult camels compared tojuvenile camels. The control of MERS-CoV infection relies on prompt identification ofcases within health care facilities, with institutions applying appropriate infectioncontrol measures. In addition, determining the exact route of transmission from camels tohumans would further add to the control measures of MERS-CoV infection.

Keywords:

• MERS
• Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
• epidemiology
• control measures
• transmission
• Saudi Arabia

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.