Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine
Published in: Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Review

The history and epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus

Authors: Aisha M. Al-Osail, Marwan J. Al-Wazzah

Published in: Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Corona viruses cause common cold, and infections caused by corona viruses are generally self-resolving. During the last 4 years, corona viruses have become the most important viruses worldwide because of the occurrence of several recent deaths caused by corona viruses in Saudi Arabia. Spread of the infection occurred worldwide; however, most cases of mortality have occurred in the Middle East. Owing to the predominance of outbreaks in the Middle Eastern countries, the virus was renamed a Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV) by the Corona virus Study Group. The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and World Health Organization maintain a website that is updated frequently with new cases of MERS-CoV infection. In this review, we describe the history and epidemiology of this novel virus. Studies of the genetics and molecular mechanisms of this virus are expected to facilitate the development of vaccines in the future.
Literature
1.
2.
Zaki AM, van Boheemen S, Bestebroer TM, Osterhaus AD, Fouchier RA. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. NEngl J Med. 2012;367:1814–20.CrossRef
3.
Mailles A, Blanckaert K, Chaud P, van der Werf S, Lina B, Caro V, et al. First cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in France, investigations and implications for the prevention of human-to-human transmission, Euro Surveill. 2013;18:20502.
4.
Buchholz U, Müller MA, Nitsche A, Sanewski A, Wevering N, Bauer-Balci T, et al. Contact investigation of a case of human novel coronavirus infection treated in a German hospital, October-November 2012. Euro Surveill. 2013;18:20406.PubMed
5.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Update: severe respiratory disease associated with a novel coronavirus. Stockholm: ECDC; 2012.
6.
Bermingham A, Chand MA, Brown CS, Aarons E, Tong C, Langrish C, et al. Severe respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, in a patient transferred to the United Kingdom from the Middle East, September 2012. Euro Surveill. 2012;17:20290.PubMed
7.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Update: Outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome--worldwide, 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2003;52(12):241–6.
8.
World Health Organization. Coronavirus never before seen in humans is the cause of SARS– update 31. Geneva: The Organization; 2003.
9.
10.
Peiris JS, Lai ST, Poon LL, Guan Y, Yam LY, Lim W, et al. Coronavirus as a possible cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2003;361:1319–25.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Saif LJ. Animal coronaviruses: what can they teach us about the severe acute respiratory syndrome? Rev Sci Tech. 2004;23:643–60.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Gwaltney JM Jr. Virology and immunology of the common cold. Rhinology. 1985;23:265.PubMed
13.
Tyrrell DAJ, Myint SH. Chapter 60: Coronaviruses. In Barson 1 S, editor. Medical microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996.
14.
Woo PC, Lau SK, Huang Y, Yuen KY. Coronavirus diversity, phylogeny and interspecies jumping. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2009;234:1117–27.CrossRef
15.
de Souza Luna LK, Heiser V, Regamey N, Panning M, Drexler JF, Mulangu S, et al. Generic detection of coronaviruses and differentiation at the prototype strain level by reverse transcription–PCR and nonfluorescent low-density microarray. J Clin Microbiol. 2007;45:1049–52.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
16.
Assiri A, McGeer A, Perl TM, Price CS, Al Rabeeah AA, Cummings DA, et al. Hospital out break of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:407–16.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
17.
Guery B, Poissy J, el Mansouf L, Séjourné C, Ettahar N, Lemaire X, et al. Clinical features and viral diagnosis of two cases of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a report of nosocomial transmission. Lancet. 2013;381:2265–72.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Memish ZA, Al-Tawfiq JA, Assiri A, AlRabiah FA, Al Hajjar S, Albarrak A, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2014;33:904–6.CrossRefPubMed
19.
20.
21.
Corman VM, Muller MA, Costabel U, Timm J, Binger T, Meyer B, et al. Assays for laboratory confirmation of novel human coronavirus (hCoV-EMC) infections. Euro Surveill. 2012;17:20334.PubMed
22.
Reusken C, Mou H, Godeke GJ, van der Hoek L, Meyer B, Müller MA, et al. Specific serology for emerging human coronaviruses by protein microarray. Euro Surveill. 2013;18:20441.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Aleanizy FS, Mohmed N, Alqahtani FY, El Hadi Mohamed RA. Outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective study. BMC Infect Dis. 2017;17(1):23.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
24.
Memish ZA, Al-Tawfiq JA, Makhdoom HQ, Al-Rabeeah AA, Assiri A, Alhakeem RF, et al. Screening for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in hospital patients and their healthcare worker and family contacts: a prospective descriptive study. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2014;20:469–74.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Al Shehri AM. A lesson learned from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia. Med Teach. 2015;37(Suppl 1):S88–93.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Anthony SJ, Ojeda-Flores R, Rico-Chavez O, Navarrete-Macias I, Zambrana-Torrelio CM, Rostal MK, et al. Coronaviruses in bats from Mexico. J Gen Virol. 2013;94:1028–38.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
27.
Annan A, Baldwin HJ, Corman VM, Klose SM, Owusu M, Nkrumah EE, et al. Human betacoronavirus 2c EMC/2012-related viruses in bats, Ghana and Europe. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:456–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Ithlete NL, Stoffberg S, Corman VM, Cottontail VM, Richards LR, Schoeman MC, et al. Close relative of human Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in bat, South Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:1697–9.CrossRef
29.
Memish ZA, Mishra N, Olival KJ, Fagbo SF, Kapoor V, Epstein JH, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus in bats, Saudi Arabia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:1819–23.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Lau SK, Woo PC, Li KS, Huang Y, Tsoi HW, Wong BH, et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005;102:14040–5.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
31.
Li W, Shi Z, Yu M, Ren W, Smith C, Epstein JH, et al. Bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses. Science. 2005;310:676–9.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Pfefferle S, Oppong S, Drexler JF, Gloza-Rausch F, Ipsen A, Seebens A, et al. Distant relatives of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and close relatives of human coronavirus 229E in bats, Ghana. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009;15:1377–84.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
33.
Tang XC, Zhang JX, Zhang SY, Wang P, Fan XH, Li LF, Li G, et al. Prevalence and genetic diversity of coronaviruses in bats from China. J Virol. 2006;80:7481–90.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
34.
Hemida MG, Chu DKW, Poon LL, Perera RA, Alhammadi MA, Ng H-Y, et al. MERS coronavirus in dromedary camel herd, Saudi Arabia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014;20:1231–4.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Khalafalla AI, Lu X, Al-Mubarak AIA, Dalab AHS, Al-Busadah KAS, Erdman DD. MERS-CoV in upper respiratory tract and lungs of dromedary camels, Saudi Arabia, 2013–2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015;21:1153–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
36.
Alagaili AN, Briese T, Mishra N, Kapoor V, Sameroff SC, de Wit E, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia. MBiol. 2014:e00884–14.
37.
Reusken CB, Farag EA, Jonges M, Godeke GJ, El-Sayed AM, Pas SD, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) RNA and neutralising antibodies in milk collected according to local customs from dromedary camels, Qatar, April 2014. Euro Surveill. 2014;19:20829.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Chu DKW, Poon LL, Gomaa MM, Shehata MM, Perera RAPM, Zeid DA, et al. MERS coronaviruses in dromedary camels, Egypt. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014;20:1049–53.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
39.
Perera RA, Wang P, Gomaa MR, El-Shesheny R, Kandeil A, Bagato O, et al. Seroepidemiology for MERS coronavirus using microneutralisation and pseudoparticle virus neutralization assays reveal a high prevalence of antibody in dromedary 1 camels in Egypt, June 2013. Euro Surveill. 2013;18:20574.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Nowotny N, Kolodziejek J. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels, Oman, 2013. Euro Surveill. 2014;19:20781.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Yusof MF, Eltahir YM, Serhan WS, Hashem FM, Elsayed EA, Marzoug BA, et al. Prevalence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels in Abu Dhabi emirate, United Arab Emirates. Virus Genes. 2015;50:509–13.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Haagmans BL, Al Dhahiry SH, Reusken CB, Raj VS, Galiano M, Myers R, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camels: an outbreak investigation. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014;14:140–5.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Müller MA, Meyer B, Corman VM, Al-Masri M, Turkestani A, Ritz D, et al. Presence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus antibodies in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide, cross-sectional, serological study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015;15:559–64.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Zhao Z, Zhang F, Xu M, Huang K, Zhong W, Cai W, et al. Description and clinical treatment of an early outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangzhou, PR China. J Med Microbiol. 2003;52:715–20.CrossRefPubMed
45.
Chan JF, Chan KH, Kao RY, To KK, Zheng BJ, Li CP, et al. Broad-spectrum antivirals for the emerging Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. J Inf Secur. 2013;67:606–16.
46.
Al-Tawfiq JA, Momattin H, Dib J, Memish ZA. Ribavirin and interferon therapy in patients infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: an observational study. Int J Infect Dis. 2014;20:42–6.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Al-Qahtani AA, Lyroni K, Aznaourova M, Tseliou M, Al-Anazi MR, Al-Ahdal MN, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus spike glycoprotein suppresses macrophage responses via DPP4-mediated induction of IRAK-M and PPARγ. Oncotarget. 2017;8(6):9053–66. doi:10.​18632/​oncotarget.​14754.
48.
Bin Saeed AA, Abedi GR, Alzahrani AG, Salameh I, Abdirizak F, Alhakeem R, et al. Surveillance and testing for Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, Saudi Arabia, April 2015–February 2016. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017;23(4):682–5. doi:10.​3201/​eid2304.​161793.
49.
Arabi YM, Balkhy HH, Hayden FG, Bouchama A, Luke T, Baillie JK,  et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(6):584–94. doi:10.​1056/​NEJMsr1408795.
Metadata
Title
The history and epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus
Authors
Aisha M. Al-Osail
Marwan J. Al-Wazzah
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 2049-6958
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40248-017-0101-8

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine 1/2017 Go to the issue

Review

A reappraisal of the mucoactive activity and clinical efficacy of bromhexine

Letter to the Editor

Once daily aerosolised tobramycin in adult patients with cystic fibrosis in the management of Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic infection

Erratum

Erratum to: Recent advances in capsule-based dry powder inhaler technology

Original research article

Instant velocity and consistency of emitted cloud change by the different levels of canister filling with Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs), but not with Soft Mist Inhalers (SMIs): a bench study

Original research article

Using PaCO2 values to grade obesity-hypoventilation syndrome severity: a retrospective study

Letter to the Editor

Ventilator associated pneumonia or ventilator induced pneumonia
Live Webinar | 27-06-2024 | 18:00 (CEST)

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Reserve your place

Live: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

WHO estimates that half of all patients worldwide are non-adherent to their prescribed medication. The consequences of poor adherence can be catastrophic, on both the individual and population level.

Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.

Prof. Kevin Dolgin
Prof. Florian Limbourg
Prof. Anoop Chauhan
Developed by: Springer Medicine
Obesity Clinical Trial Summary

At a glance: The STEP trials

Read more

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

Developed by: Springer Medicine
Image Credits