Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

First reported in September 2012, the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has resulted in 206 laboratory-confirmed deaths, with a 42% mortality rate as of 27 March 2014. Closely related coronaviruses have been isolated in bats, but most evidence suggests that humans have become infected directly from camels in a number of separate transmission events, with limited human-to-human transmission reported thus far. The majority of cases originated in the Middle East (predominantly Saudi Arabia), including all the index cases.
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Lead Article Source Type: news