Although mers is endemic to the middle east, travelers have. Since then, cases of mers have been identified in jordan, qatar, the united arab emirates, kuwait, oman, tunisia, germany, france, the united. Health officials first reported the disease in saudi arabia in september 2012. Merscov spillover at the camelhuman interface elife.
The virus uses its spike proteins as adhesive factors that are. In september 2012, the acute viral respiratory disease known as middle east respiratory syndrome mers was first reported in saudi arabia. Mers shares many clinical features with sars such as severe. Eidd1931 has broadspectrum antiviral activity against sarscov2, merscov, sarscov, and related zoonotic group 2b or 2c batcovs, as well as increased potency against a cov bearing resistance mutations to the nucleoside analog inhibitor remdesivir.
Currently, more than 600,000 cases have been diagnosed and over 25,000 infected people. Overlapping and discrete aspects of the pathology and. These and other newly identified viruses percolate in many parts of. The natural reservoir of merscov is presumed to be bats, yet human transmission events have primarily been attributed to an intermediate host,thedromedarycamel. Mers cov nucleic acid has been identified in camels in egypt, oman, qatar, united arab emirates, and saudi. Middle east respiratory syndrome mers is viral respiratory illness that is new to humans. Lastly, mers cov infection, which approaches 50% of total. Sequencing data show that the sarscov2 is most closely related to coronaviruses found in bats, with more than 85% nucleotide identity with a bat sarslike cov. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus sars cov and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers cov are two highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses that emerged in humans at. Most mers patients developed severe acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Mers is an illness caused by a virus called middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov. Most people infected with merscov developed severe respiratory illness, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Since then, and as of 16 january 2020, 2 521 cases have been reported worldwide, including 919 deaths crude case fatality 36%. Merscov is a newly identified human coronavirus that has recently emerged in the middle east region. In 2014, the new middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov killed 92 people and infected at least 238 people in middle eastern countries. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus sarscov and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov are two highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses that emerged in humans at. Jeannette guarner, md, three emerging coronaviruses in two decades.
By feb 22, 2020, this virus has affected more than 77 700 people worldwide and caused more than 2300 deaths. Mpa, against merscov infection 2 journal of immunology research. Mers spotlight emerging infectious diseases journal cdc. Infection, immunological response, and vaccine development ayman mubarak,1 wael alturaiki,2 and maged gomaa hemida 3,4. According to research findings, licorice root effectively inhibits the mers and sars virus infections. The middle east respiratory syndrome mers cov is a potentially fatal respiratory viral infection that has had outbreaks in the middle east and asia region starting in 2012. Next, we investigated whether mersmab1 mediates merscov entry into fc receptorexpressing cells. Your book will be printed and delivered directly from one of three print stations, allowing you to profit from economic shipping to any country in the world. Journal of infection and public health 2016 9, 216219 merscov diagnosis. The titers of merscov present in the control samples ranged from 6. The who hasnt yet classified merscov as a public health emergency of international concern. Most cases have been reported from the arabian peninsula and around 84%. The disease is typically more severe in those with other health problems. Cov and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers.
Coronavirus infectionsmore than just the common cold. Merscov antibody responses 1 year after symptom onset. Mers is caused by a novel virus currently named mers coronavirus merscov 1, 2. We investigated the kinetics of the middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov neutralizing and spike protein antibody titers over the course of 1 year in 11 patients who were confirmed by reverse transcription pcr to have been infected during the outbreak in south korea in 2015. Coronaviruses cause a variety of diseases in mammals and birds ranging from enteritis in cows and pigs. As recent as 2015, mers had outbreaks in south korea, resulting in 36 deaths among 186 infected patients. Middle east respiratory syndromerelated coronavirus merscov, or emc2012 hcovemc2012, is a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. In 2017, the who placed sarscov and merscov on its priority pathogen list, hoping to galvanize research and the development of countermeasures against covs. Coronavirus infections and immune responses li 2020. Three emerging coronaviruses in two decades american. Mers cov is a zoonotic virus and dromedary camels are the single mainte nance host and primary reservoir of mers cov, however, the route of transmission to humans is unknown 2,3. Estimating survival rates in merscov patients 14 and 45. Coronaviruses covs, enveloped positivesense rna viruses, are characterized by clublike spikes that project from their surface, an unusually large rna genome, and a unique replication strategy.
It was first reported in saudi arabia in 2012 and has since spread to several other countries, including the united states. Here, we coexpressed the merscov nonstructural proteins nsp5, nsp7, nsp8, and nsp12 rdrp in insect cells as a part a polyprotein to study the mechanism of inhibition of merscov rdrp by rdv. The patient was treated and recovered, contacts were identified and followed and no further cases were identified by authorities in the united kingdom. Middle east respiratory syndromerelated coronavirus. Merscov is known to cause cytopathology in a number of cell lines 35, 36.
Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov is a zoonotic pathogen that causes respiratory infection in humans, ranging from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia. Sarscov2 is the third known highly pathogenic human coronavirus infection in the last two decades after merscov and sarscov. Dear colleagues, middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov is a newly emerged coronavirus. Importantly, among all the functionalnonfunctional structural proteins of sarscov and merscov, the s protein is the principal antigenic component that induces antibodies to block. Pdf preliminary epidemiological assessment of merscov. Dear colleagues, middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers cov is a newly emerged coronavirus. Hajeer department of pathology and laboratory medicine, king saud university for health.
The middle east respiratory syndrome mers is a novel lethal zoonotic disease of humans caused by the mers coronavirus merscov. Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers cov summary of current situation july 2019 3 of 10 testing on samples collected returned a positive result for mers cov on 21 august 2018. Convalescent plasma as a potential therapy for covid19. An orally bioavailable broadspectrum antiviral inhibits. The emergence of the middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov infections has become a global issue of dire concerns. Cov2 and if there are any unknown components in the sars. Estimating survival rates in merscov patients 14 and 45 days after experiencing symptoms and determining the differences in survival rates by demographic data, disease characteristics and regions.
The species is a member of the genus betacoronavirus and. Merscov infections have been identified in many countries all over the world whereas high level occurrences have been documented in the middle east and korea. Merscov but not sarscov induces apoptosis in t cells. Molecular mechanism for antibodydependent enhancement. The pneumonia induced by the sarscov2 is named coronavirus disease 2019 covid19. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an indepth understanding of how this viral infection behaves in outbreaks.
Typical symptoms include fever, cough, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. Merscov is a zoonotic virus and dromedary camels are the single mainte nance host and primary reservoir of merscov, however, the route of transmission to humans is unknown 2,3. Rdv is a nucleotide analog inhibitor of rnadependent rna polymerases rdrps. The middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov was first discovered in 2012 in a patient who died from severe respiratory disease. While mers has not caused the international panic seen with sars, the emergence of this second, highly pathogenic zoonotic hcov illustrates the threat posed by this viral family. Crosssectional seroepidemiologic study of mers cov. Merscov is mainly spreading across the geographical region of the middle. Since its emergence, a total of 2279 patients from 27 countries have been infected across the globe according to a world health organization who report feb. The story of sars, mers, and now covid19, american journal of clinical pathology, volume 153, issue 4. Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus efficiently. Merscov nucleic acid has been identified in camels in. Cov was first identified in 2012, bringing a total of 1401 mers.
Middle east respiratory syndrome mers is a highly lethal respiratory disease caused by a novel singlestranded, positivesense rna beta coronavirus merscov. Evidence for cameltohuman transmission of mers coronavirus. Differences in the behavior of the virus observed between individuals, as well as between. Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers cov is a newly recognized beta coronavirus that was first reported in 2012 in saudi arabia.
In dromedary camels, the virus only causes a mild infection but it spreads efficiently between animals. Licorice root fights mers and sars viral infections. Dromedary camels, hosts for merscov, are implicated in direct or indirect transmission to human beings, although the exact mode of transmission is unknown. The sarscov2 is a betacoronavirus similar to sarscov and merscov. Mers is an illness caused by a virus called middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers cov. Case study of middle east respiratory syndrome merscov. Viruses free fulltext host determinants of merscov. Symptoms of merscov are nonspecific, but many patients end up with severe acute respiratory distress. To examine whether merscov infection induced cell death in t cells, we assessed tunel activity in merscovinfected t cells and compared the findings to those in sarscov or mockinfected t cells. It is different from other coronaviruses that have previously been found in humans.
The infecting virus is an enveloped, positivesense, singlestranded rna virus which enters its host cell by binding to the dpp4 receptor. Dromedary camels, hosts for merscov, are implicated in direct or indirect transmission. Thank you for submitting your article merscov spillover at the camelhuman interface for consideration by elife. Pdf middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus mers. Sarscov and merscov belong to the coronavirus genus in the coronaviridae family and have large, positivesense rna genomes of 27. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 sarscov2, which originated in wuhan, china, has become a major concern all over the world. Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus merscov first emerged in late 2012. Middle east respiratory syndrome mers, also known as camel flu, is a viral respiratory infection caused by the merscoronavirus merscov. Occurrence of the middle east respiratory syndrome.
A novel coronavirus strain disease, coronavirus disease 2019 covid19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 sarscov2, has recently emerged in wuhan, china and rapidly spread throughout china and subsequently worldwide 1,2. Merscov and the newly epidemic sarscov2, in the hope to gain a better understanding of the hostpathogen interaction, host immune responses, and the pathogen immune evasion strategies. Mers cov is a newly identified human coronavirus that has recently emerged in the middle east region. Risk assessment guidelines for infectious diseases.