Middle East respiratory syndrome
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a highly deadly infectious disease of the respiratory system caused by RNA β coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It is estimated that dromedary camels are the main reservoir for the virus and are involved in direct and indirect transmission of the virus to humans. The virus was first isolated from a patient who died of an acute respiratory infection in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in June 2012. As of today, the majority of MERS cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and in South Korea (secondary infections imported from the Middle East). Twenty-two cases have been reported in countries outside the Middle East including the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria, Tunisia, Algeria, Malaysia, the Philippines and the USA – these were imported cases diagnosed in travelers having returned from the Arabian Peninsula. Clinical symptoms of MERS can be mild and then the disease may present as an upper respiratory tract infection. In some cases, however, it may develop into an acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ failure leading to death, especially in patients with comorbidities. Non-pharmacological management of MERS mainly consists in preventing the spread of the virus while pharmacological management comes down to symptomatic treatment.
Downloads
Article Details
Copyright: © Medical Education sp. z o.o. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Address reprint requests to: Medical Education, Marcin Kuźma (marcin.kuzma@mededu.pl)
References
2. World Health Organization: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Summary of current situation, literature update and risk assessment. Genewa, Szwajcaria, 7 lipca 2015 r.
3. Chinese SARS Molecular Epidemiology Consortium. Molecular evolution of the SARS coronavirus during the course of the SARS epidemic in China. Science 2004, 303: 1666-1669.
4. Banik G.R., Khandaker G., Rashid H.: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus “MERS-CoV”: Current Knowledge Gaps. Paediatr. Respir. Rev. 2015, Apr. 18 [paper ahead of print].
5. Zaki A.M., van Boheemen S, Bestebroer T.M. et al.: Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N. Engl. J. Med. 2012, 367: 1814-1820.
6. Drosten C., Seilmaier M., Corman V.M. et al.: Clinical features and virological analysis of a case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. Lancet Infect. Dis. 2013, 13: 745-751.
7. De Groot R.J., Baker S.C., Baric R.S. et al.: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS – CoV): announcement of the Coronavirus Studu Group. J. Virol. 2013, 87: 7790-7792.
8. Van Boheemen S., de Graaf M., Lauber C. et al.: Genomic chatacterization of a newly discovered coronavirus associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in human. M. Bio. 2012, Nov 20, 3(6).
9. Raj V.S., Mou H., Smits S.L. et al.: Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 is a functional receptor for the emerging human coronavirus EMC. Nature 2013, 495: 251-254.
10. Reusken C., Ababneh M., Raj V. et al.: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) serology in major livestock species in an affected region in Jordan, June to September 2013. Euro Surveill. 2013, 18: 20662.
11. Memish Z.A., Cotten M., Meyer B. et al.: Human infection with MERS coronavirus after exposure to infected camels, Saudi Arabia, 2013. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2014, 20: 1012-1015.
12. Al-Tawfiq J.A., Zumla A., Memish Z.A.: Coronaviruses: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in travelers. Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. 2014, 27: 411-417.
13. Zumla A., Hui D.S., Perlman S.: Midle East respiratory syndrome. Lancet 2015, 386(9997): 995-1007.
14. Arabi Y.M., Arifi A.A., Balkhy H.H. et al.: Clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. Ann. Intern. Med. 2014, 160: 389-397.
15. Pyrć K.: Ludzkie koronawirusy. Postępy Nauk Medycznych 2015, t. XXVIII 4B: 48-54.
16. Gliński Z., Chełmiński A.: Nowa koronawirusowa zoonoza: bliskowschodni zespół niewydolności oddechowej. Życie weterynaryjne 2014, 89(9): 747-749.
17. Pyrć K., Dijkman R., Deng I. et al.: Mosaic structure of human coronavirus NL63, one thousand years of evolution. J. Mol. 2006, 364: 964-973.
18. Faure E., Poissy J., Goffard A. et al.: Distinct Immune Response in two MERS-CoV-infected Patients: Can we go from bench to bedside? Plos ONE 2014, 9(2): e88716: 1-7.
19. Meyer B., Muller M.A., Corman V.M. et al.: Antibodies against MERS coronavirus in dromedary camels, United Arab Emirates, 2003 and 2013. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2014, 20(4): 552-559.
20. Corman V., Muller M., Costabel U. et al.: Assays for laboratory confirmation of novel human coronavirus (hCoV-EMC) infections. Euro Surveill 2012, 17: 20334.
21. Reusken C., Mou H., Godeke G.J. et al.: Specific serology for emerging human coronaviruses by protein microarray. Euro Surveill. 2013, 18(14): 20441.
22. Guery B., Poissy J., el Mansouf L. 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(9885): 2265-2272.
23. Al-Tawfiq J.A., Memish Z.A.: What are our pharmacotherapeutic options for MERS-CoV? Expert Rev. Clin. Pharmacol. 2014, 7(3): 235-238.
24. Rasmussen S.A., Gerber I., Swerdlow D.L.: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus: Update for Clinicians. Clin. J. Dis. 2015, 60(11): 1686-1689.
25. Al-Tawfiq J.A., Hinedi K., Ghandour J. et al.: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a case-control study of hospitalized patients. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2014, 59(2): 160-165.
26. Saad M., Omrani A.S., Baig K. et al.: Clinical aspects and outcomes of 70 patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection: a single-center experience in Saudi Arabia. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2014, 29: 301-306.
27. Al-Abdallat M.M., Payne D.C., Alqasrawi S. et al.: The Jordan MERS-CoV Investigation Team: Hospital associated outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a serologic, epidemiologic, and clinical description. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2014, 59: 1225-1233.
28. Assiri A., McGeer A., Perl T.M. et al.: Hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. N. Engl. J. Med. 2013, 369: 407-416.
29. Corman V., Eckerle I., Bleicker T. et al.: Detection of a novel human coronavirus by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Euro Surveill. 2012, 17: 20285.
30. Al-Tawfiq J.A., Momattin H., Dib J. et al.: Ribavirin and interferon therapy in patiens infected with Middle East respiratory Syndrome coronavirus: an observational study. Intern. J. Infect. Dis. 2014, 20: 42-46.
31. Buchholz U., Muller M.A., Nitsche A. 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.
32. Karuppiah M., Darryl F. Reuschel E.M. et al.: A synthetic consensus anti-spike protein DNA vaccine induces protective immunity against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in nonhuman primates. Science Transnational Medicine 2015, 301(7): 301.
33. Memish Z.A., Al-Tawfiq J.A., Makhdoom H.Q. 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: 469-474.
34. Perlman S., McCray P.B.: Person to person Spread of the MERS Coronavirus – An Evolving Picture. NEJM 2013, 369(5): 466-467.
35. Breban R., Riou J., Fontanet A.: Interhuman transmissibility of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: estimation of pandemic risk. Lancet 2013, 382: 694-699.
36. Pavli A., Tsiodras S., Maltezou H.C.: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Prevention in travelers. Travel Med. Infect. Dis. 2014, 12: 602-608.
37. Drosten C., Meyer B., Müller M.A. et al.: Transmission of MERS-coronavirus in household contacts. N. Eng. J. Med. 2014, 371: 828-835.
38. Reusken C.B., Haagmans B.L., Müller M.A. et al.: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus neutralising serum antibodies in dromedary camels: a comparative serological study. Lancet Infect. Dis. 2013, 13: 859-866.