What is MERS?

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a mysterious disease that is spreading quickly through the Arab world. The disease has already killed at least 92 people in Saudi Arabia, where over 300 MERS cases have been diagnosed. The deadly virus has recently reached Egypt.

The first case confirmed of MERS confirmed that nation is a 27-year-old civil engineer who recently traveled to Saudi Arabia. He is currently being treated in a hospital in Cairo.

The MERS virus has also been diagnosed in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. One man died from the disease after returning home to Indonesia from the Saudi kingdom.

The Centers for Disease Control wrote they recognize “the potential for the virus to spread further and cause more cases and clusters globally, including in the United States,”

Like SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, symptoms of MERS include fever and coughing. These can develop into pneumonia. However, SARS one killed one in ten of its victims, while one in three people diagnosed with MERS have died.

On a Web page of questions about the mysterious disease, officials of the CDC wrote, “So far, all the cases have been linked to six countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula. No cases have been identified in the U.S. This virus has spread from ill people to others through close contact. However, the virus has not shown to spread in a sustained way in communities.”

Little is known about how MERS developed or how it damages the human body. The disease was identified in Egyptian camels before it was detected in humans. This leads health officials to believe animals may serve in the transmission of the disease.

The man being treated for MERS in Egypt is a native of the Nile Delta, but was living in Cairo at the time he contracted the virus.

Saudi King Abdullah fired the country’s health minister, amid a growing public controversy over the government’s handling of the emerging health crisis. The last five deaths in the kingdom were located in the cities of Mecca, Jiddah, and the capital city of Riyadh.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued travel advice for people headed to areas affected by the MERS virus.

http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/faq.html

http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/MERS

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/growing-number-of-mers-cases-deeply-worrying-1.1325368

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/health/mers-camels

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/health/mers-camels