Abstract:Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a novel coronavirus disease identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, which is currently restricted in countries of the Middle East by geographical distribution, and has spread to 27 countries according to WHO reports. The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract and close contact, caused the largest epidemic of human-to-human transmission from imported case in South Korea, 2015, while the majority of of infections occurred in Saudi Arabia. It has been proved that the animal origin of MERS coronavirus is the bat, and dromedary camel acts as the intermediate host. So far no human vaccine has been developed successfully. This review summarizes in several respects such as etiology, molecular virology, epidemiology, treatment and laboratory diagnosis of the disease, facilitating comprehensive understanding and enhancing prevention and control measures for this emerging disease.
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