Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Oct;22(10):573-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2014.08.001. Epub 2014 Aug 29.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: transmission and phylogenetic evolution

Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq  1 , Ziad A Memish  2
Affiliations
Review

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: transmission and phylogenetic evolution

Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq et al. Trends Microbiol. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first described in 2012 and, subsequently, many cases were reported with a lower case fatality rate than initial cases. Humans can become infected within their communities and transmission can then be amplified in the healthcare setting. Contact investigation among cases shows a variable amount of spread among family members and healthcare workers. So far, circulating virus strains remain similar under continuous monitoring, with no genetic changes. Here, we discuss the transmission pattern, phylogenetic evolution, and pathogenesis of MERS-CoV infection.

Keywords: MERS-CoV; Middle East; coronavirus; pathogenesis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Zaki A.M. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;367:1814–1820. - PubMed
    1. Hijawi B. Novel coronavirus infections in Jordan, April 2012: epidemiological findings from a retrospective investigation. East Mediterr Health J. 2013;19(Suppl 1):S12–S18. - PubMed
    1. The WHO MERS-CoV Research Group State of knowledge and data gaps of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in humans. PLoS Curr. 2013 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Assiri A. Hospital outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. N. Engl. J. Med. 2013;369:407–416. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Omrani A.S. A family cluster of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus infections related to a likely unrecognized asymptomatic or mild case. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2013;17:e668–e672. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources