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MERS-CoV and Its Impact in the Middle East/Arab World

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Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World

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Abstract

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that causes a severe lower respiratory tract infection in humans is considered a pandemic threat to the Gulf region. In this chapter, the latest information on MERS-CoV biology, epidemiology, transmission dynamics, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive strategy are summarized. The current epidemiology is characterized by slow and sustained transmission with occasional sparks in the Middle East. Although the transmission cycle of MERS-CoV is not fully understood yet, the dromedary camel is considered to be the intermediate host of the virus and believed to play an important role in the epidemiology of the virus. MERS-CoV is particularly severe in men with comorbidities and rare in children. Several vaccine approaches have shown efficacy in animal models and begun to enter clinical trials. Travellers to the Middle East may benefit from health education on avoidance of exposure to camels and ill persons and refraining from consuming raw camel products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Kids Research, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Gouri R. Banik

  2. School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, The i3 Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Technology, Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

    Gouri R. Banik

  3. Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology-Institute of Clinical Microbiology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Jen Kok

  4. The Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Harunor Rashid

  5. National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Harunor Rashid

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  1. Gouri R. Banik
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  2. Jen Kok
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Correspondence to Gouri R. Banik .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Ismail Laher

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Environmental & Occupational Medicine, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

    Amal Saad-Hussein M.D., Ph.D.

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Banik, G.R., Kok, J., Rashid, H. (2021). MERS-CoV and Its Impact in the Middle East/Arab World. In: Laher, I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36811-1_134

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