What Is MERS?
- First identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease.
- Originates from a virus that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
- Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath; may advance to pneumonia, gastrointestinal symptoms, diarrhea
- Approximately 36 percent of reported MERS patients die
- Most human cases of MERS have been attributed to human-to-human infections, but the virus does not seem to pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact.
- Source: WHO