MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Sci & Tech)

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a man had been infected with the deadly Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but there is no immediate cause for worry or concern.

• Humanity has been acquainted with MERS-CoV, which belongs to the same family as the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). 
• That virus had caused the three-year-long novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic from 2020-2022.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

• About: It is a viral respiratory disease caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS?CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
• MERS-CoV has been identified and linked to human infections in dromedary camels in several Member States in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
• Symptoms: Fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is common, but MERS patients may not always develop this condition. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported among MERS patients.
• Transmission: MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, meaning it is transmitted between animals and people. 
• Human-to-human transmission is possible and has occurred predominantly among close contacts and in health care settings. 
• Outside the health care setting, there has been limited human-to-human transmission.
• Prevention and treatment: No vaccine or specific treatment are currently available, however several MERS-CoV specific vaccines and treatments are in clinical development. 
• In the absence of MERS-specific therapeutics, treatment of MERS patients is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.