Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection pathophysiology
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection Microchapters |
Differentiating Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection from other Diseases |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness. It is caused by an emerging coronavirus, specifically a betacoronavirus called MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus), first discovered in 2012. Potential animal reservoirs and mechanisms of transmission of MERS-CoV to humans remain unclear. Initially a zoonotic origin for MERS-CoV was suggested due to the high genetic similarity to the coronaviruses in bats. Additionally, recent reports have also described serologic data similarities in camels and related viruses have also been identified in bats. However, future studies will have to provide additional epidemiologic data linking human MERS cases to infected animals in order to determine if a particular species is a host, a source of human infection, or both.[1][2]