1. As the new biological Satan, Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS) coronavirustraversed oceans to reach the United States, the
mystery and trepidation encapsulating it has reached the paramount.
With the World Health Organization (WHO) warning – MERS CoV is a
threat to the entire world – the deadly virus is sending down some
chills.
Since the first reported case in a patient from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in
June 2012, MERS has sickened at least 431 people in Saudi Arabia
alone and killed nearly a third of them.
But what is it? What type of sickness does it cause? How does the
virus spread? Where does it come from?
The virus
Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid 1960s. The virus
has crown-like spikes on its surface and usually causes mild to
moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses. The three main sub-types
of coronaviruses are alpha, beta and gamma, and a fourth new group
called delta coronaviruses.
MERS is basically a viral respiratory illness caused by a beta
coronavirus. MERS-CoV was earlier known as “novel coronavirus,” or
“nCoV”.
Around 75 percent cases reported are secondary in nature, that is,
acquired from one infected person. MERS-CoV has been shown to
spread between people who are in close contact. The symptoms of the
infectious disease include fever, cough, shortness of breath and severe
pneumonia.
The occurrence of the infection seems to follow a seasonal pattern with
escalating incidence from spring onwards as indicated by the sharp
rise in number of cases after and during March 2014.
The Arabian Camel
Myriad curses are being hurled at the Arabian camel, which, as has
been recently confirmed, the perpetrator held liable for the MERS
coronavirus. The precise transmission pathways of the viruses,
however, have not been clear until now.
Virologists investigating the transmission pathways of the MERS
coronavirus found that viruses from infected humans and Arabian
camels from the same geographical region have nearly identical RNA

2. sequences, indicating transmission between animals and man. The
process is referred to as zoonosis. The virus, though, differs from
region to region.
MERS and SARS
MERS coronavirus is a close but more lethal relative of the severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, which originated in
China and claimed 800 lives around the globe in 2002-03. Scientists
believe that the SARS coronavirus crossed the species barrier just
once by passing from bats to humans, but the MERS coronavirus is
relentlessly being transmitted from camels to humans.
The virus has sprawled comfortably over Arab countries including
Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Tunisia as well as
several European countries like France, Germany, Italy, Greece and
United Kingdom.
And last week, the United States health officials confirmed its first
case, a man who had been a health worker in Saudi Arabia and is now
recovering in quarantine in an Indiana hospital after he was admitted
for respiratory problems two weeks ago.
It is highly likely that the cases will continue to be exported to other
nations through travellers, tourists, healthcare workers or pilgrims.
Hajj
Saudi Arabia's acting health minister announced the sacking of the
head of a Jeddah hospital where an increase in MERS infections among
healthcare staff flickered terror among the public.
An awareness campaign has also been launched, urging people to
follow stringent measures of hygiene, avoid sick camels and abstain
from eating raw camel meat or drinking unboiled camel milk.
A team of WHO experts completed a five-day mission to the Kingdom
assess the recent proliferation in the number of people infected in
Jeddah.
The WHO stated that outbreaks of MERS in Jeddah hospitals were
partly due to "breaches" in its recommended infection prevention and
control measures.
Although, the existing evidence signified there has been no
momentous variation in the virus' ability to spread.

3. The surge is of meticulous concern because of the inflow of millions of
pilgrims from around the globe descend to the holy cities of Mecca and
Medina in July during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
During the Hajj, animals are sacrificed and their meat is shipped all
over the world to feed the hungry. Amid mounting public uneasiness at
the spread of the disease, measures have to be taken to ensure the
animals aren’t infected. Administration could opt to prohibit the
butchery of young camels for food since younger animals are more
prone to carry the MERS virus.
In 2013, the Saudi government took measures to dissuade the spread
of the virus during Haj, including posting cautions to discourage people
older than 65, pregnant women or those who were unfit from making
the pilgrimage.
Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, lab
tests are available (polymerase chain reaction or PCR) but commercial
tests are expensive and limited.