Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

How would you feel when you have an unknown but dreadful enemy attacking you, while you have no means to defend yourself? Would you not be terrified and taken aback? With no specific drug to kill a virus, the Middle East countries are feebly protected against the lethal and dreadful coronavirus since 2012.

A species of novel single-stranded, positive-sense RNA betacoronavirus whose transmission is currently unknown is shaking the Middle East nations with an endemic called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Presentation:

Since its first discovery in Jeddah in 2012 it has taken many lives in UAE, some parts of Europe, USA and Asian travelers. The origin of the virus is still unknown, although possible links to the camel are explained. Since then, MERS continues to be an endemic, low-level public health threat.

• It continues to change its nature and is untreatable if it occurs in a human.
• It has mild to no clinical features, acute respiratory distress syndrome leading to multi-organ failure and imminent death.
• The virus, however, has least human to human transmission.
• If a person has other immune-deficiencies or comorbid conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease, HIV etc., the infection leads in death.

Treatment:
Infection prevention and control measures are still the chief weaponry for the countries in the endemic region. The mortality rate is extremely high at 40%, there are no human to human transmissions noted in hospital and community settings, making it less threatening to public health. However, the virus could mutate to have increased inter-human transmissibility, increasing its potential to spread all over the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued general guidelines to prevent the infection, 'As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, barns or other places where animals are present should practice general hygiene measures, including regular hand washing before and after touching animals, and avoid contact with sick animals. The consumption of raw or undercooked animal products, including milk and meat, carries a high risk of infection from a variety of organisms that might cause disease in humans.'