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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what lessons can we learn?
J Hosp Infect. 2015 Nov; 91(3):188-96.JH

Abstract

The Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first isolated from a patient who died with severe pneumonia in June 2012. As of 19 June 2015, a total of 1,338 MERS-CoV infections have been notified to the World Health Organization (WHO). Clinical illness associated with MERS-CoV ranges from mild upper respiratory symptoms to rapidly progressive pneumonia and multi-organ failure. A significant proportion of patients present with non-respiratory symptoms such as headache, myalgia, vomiting and diarrhoea. A few potential therapeutic agents have been identified but none have been conclusively shown to be clinically effective. Human to human transmission is well documented, but the epidemic potential of MERS-CoV remains limited at present. Healthcare-associated clusters of MERS-CoV have been responsible for the majority of reported cases. The largest outbreaks have been driven by delayed diagnosis, overcrowding and poor infection control practices. However, chains of MERS-CoV transmission can be readily interrupted with implementation of appropriate control measures. As with any emerging infectious disease, guidelines for MERS-CoV case identification and surveillance evolved as new data became available. Sound clinical judgment is required to identify unusual presentations and trigger appropriate control precautions. Evidence from multiple sources implicates dromedary camels as natural hosts of MERS-CoV. Camel to human transmission has been demonstrated, but the exact mechanism of infection remains uncertain. The ubiquitously available social media have facilitated communication and networking amongst healthcare professionals and eventually proved to be important channels for presenting the public with factual material, timely updates and relevant advice.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Omrani AS
Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: asomrani@kfshrc.edu.sa.
Shalhoub S
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

MeSH

AnimalsCamelusCoronavirus InfectionsCross InfectionDisease Transmission, InfectiousGlobal HealthHumansInfection ControlMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronavirusZoonoses

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26452615

Citation

Omrani, A S., and S Shalhoub. "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what Lessons Can We Learn?" The Journal of Hospital Infection, vol. 91, no. 3, 2015, pp. 188-96.
Omrani AS, Shalhoub S. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what lessons can we learn? J Hosp Infect. 2015;91(3):188-96.
Omrani, A. S., & Shalhoub, S. (2015). Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what lessons can we learn? The Journal of Hospital Infection, 91(3), 188-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2015.08.002
Omrani AS, Shalhoub S. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what Lessons Can We Learn. J Hosp Infect. 2015;91(3):188-96. PubMed PMID: 26452615.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): what lessons can we learn? AU - Omrani,A S, AU - Shalhoub,S, Y1 - 2015/08/22/ PY - 2015/08/07/received PY - 2015/08/10/accepted PY - 2015/10/11/entrez PY - 2015/10/11/pubmed PY - 2016/8/5/medline SP - 188 EP - 96 JF - The Journal of hospital infection JO - J Hosp Infect VL - 91 IS - 3 N2 - The Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first isolated from a patient who died with severe pneumonia in June 2012. As of 19 June 2015, a total of 1,338 MERS-CoV infections have been notified to the World Health Organization (WHO). Clinical illness associated with MERS-CoV ranges from mild upper respiratory symptoms to rapidly progressive pneumonia and multi-organ failure. A significant proportion of patients present with non-respiratory symptoms such as headache, myalgia, vomiting and diarrhoea. A few potential therapeutic agents have been identified but none have been conclusively shown to be clinically effective. Human to human transmission is well documented, but the epidemic potential of MERS-CoV remains limited at present. Healthcare-associated clusters of MERS-CoV have been responsible for the majority of reported cases. The largest outbreaks have been driven by delayed diagnosis, overcrowding and poor infection control practices. However, chains of MERS-CoV transmission can be readily interrupted with implementation of appropriate control measures. As with any emerging infectious disease, guidelines for MERS-CoV case identification and surveillance evolved as new data became available. Sound clinical judgment is required to identify unusual presentations and trigger appropriate control precautions. Evidence from multiple sources implicates dromedary camels as natural hosts of MERS-CoV. Camel to human transmission has been demonstrated, but the exact mechanism of infection remains uncertain. The ubiquitously available social media have facilitated communication and networking amongst healthcare professionals and eventually proved to be important channels for presenting the public with factual material, timely updates and relevant advice. SN - 1532-2939 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26452615/Middle_East_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus__MERS_CoV_:_what_lessons_can_we_learn DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -