Epidemic and Emerging Coronaviruses (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)

Abstract

Bats are the natural reservoirs of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronaviruses (CoVs) and likely the reservoir of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV. The clinical features of SARS-CoV infection and MERS-CoV infection are similar but MERS-CoV infection progresses to respiratory failure more rapidly. Although the estimated pandemic potential of MERS-CoV is lower than that of SARS-CoV, the case fatality rate of MERS is higher. The transmission route and the possibility of other intermediary animal sources remain uncertain among many sporadic primary cases. Clinical trial options for MERS-CoV infection include monotherapy and combination therapy.

New and emerging infectious diseases (Ebola, Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Candida auris): Focus on environmental survival and germicide susceptibility

“…The microbiology, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations of MERS have been reviewed. [66][67][68][69][70][71][72] MERS-CoV, a betacoronavirus, is a single-stranded, positive-sense enveloped RNA virus that can cause an acute respiratory illness in humans. MERS-CoV is a zoonotic disease that is transmitted from animals-to-humans.…”

Potential Maternal and Infant Outcomes from Coronavirus 2019-nCoV (SARS-CoV-2) Infecting Pregnant Women: Lessons from SARS, MERS, and Other Human Coronavirus Infections

“…Both the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV have several features in common that are factors in producing nosocomial transmission, replication in the lower respiratory tract, and viral immunopathology. Both coronaviruses are zoonotic infections and constitute significant public health threats that have resulted in epidemics with significant loss of life [1,5,6]. When the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV infect women who are pregnant, they can result in poor obstetric outcomes including maternal morbidity and death.…”

Real-time tentative assessment of the epidemiological characteristics of novel coronavirus infections in Wuhan, China, as at 22 January 2020

“…A much larger number of coronaviruses have been detected in animals, particularly in bats, but have not been found in humans [2]. Prior to December 2019 when clusters of pneumonia cases with unknown aetiology were detected in Wuhan, China, only two additional strains of coronaviruses had caused outbreaks of severe acute respiratory disease around the world [3]. In the 2003 outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infections in mainland China, Hong Kong and a number of other locations, there were more than 8,000 documented cases and 774 deaths [4].…”