5 things to know about Middle East respiratory distress syndrome

So far, there have been 262 cases of MERS in 12 countries and there is a tendency to spread.

The virus causing respiratory distress syndrome in the Middle East (MERS-CoV for short) was discovered in Saudi Arabia in early 2012. According to CNN, until now, there have been 262 cases of MERS in the world. countries and trends are spreading.

On April 13, a Malaysian man infected with the virus died after returning from Saudi Arabia. On April 26, Egypt also announced the first case of MERS infection. And most recently, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US has also discovered the first case of this virus. Other countries have so far confirmed cases of infection are France, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Tunisia, England .

Here are 5 things to know about this danger syndrome:

1. It is a type of coronavirus

MERS virus was first detected in the spring of 2012. (Photo: eden.lsu.edu)

MERS is a disease similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a coronavirus virus strain . However, unlike SARS, the disease infects more than 8,000 people worldwide and causes 773 deaths in 2003, MERS is less infectious between people - at least not yet.

According to CDC, the virus acts like a flu virus and attacks the respiratory system. Its symptoms may be fever and cough, which can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea are also found in people infected with the virus, according to WHO.

The average age of people infected with MERS is 51, however, the age of the victims of this virus ranges from 2 to 94 years.

2. It is still unknown how MERS spreads

All MERS cases in the six countries of the Arabian Peninsula are due to limited human-to-human transmission, including health workers who have contact with patients.

Despite limited transmission, however, health officials are worried about MERS because of the toxicity of the virus. Up to one third of MERS cases have died, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, of the CDC.

'The virus does not show a continuous spread in the community' , official information on the CDC website writes. Both WHO and CDC do not give any warnings to travelers who are associated with Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome.

'You are not at risk of becoming infected with MERS if you do not have regular contact with care or living with someone who has had MERS before,' the CDC website said.

3. MERS virus found in camels

Camels may be an important clue to tracing the origin of the MERS virus. In an article published earlier last week, scientists said they isolated the MERS virus from two humped camels. In February, researchers also published research confirming that three-quarters of the camels in Saudi Arabia were tested to test positive for exposure to MERS.

MERS virus is also found in bats in Saudi Arabia, the CDC information added.

'The path of animal and environmental transmission to people is still under investigation' , the WHO said.

Photo: cidrap.umn.edu

4. MERS outbreaks by season?

US health officials said that MERS cases increased dramatically in the spring months of this year. The increase in cases of MERS cases was also recorded in the spring months last year, Schuchat said.

However, scientists have not been able to confirm the cause of an increase in cases of MERS infections that could be caused by MERS outbreaks by season or because the virus has mutations that make the transmission easy. than.

5. There is no cure or vaccine yet

Until now, doctors can treat MERS symptoms like difficulty breathing or fever, Schuchat said. However, there are no vaccines and specific drugs, such as an antiviral drug exclusively for MERS.

Currently, the annual influenza vaccination as well as the 5-year pneumococcal vaccine is considered an effective method to reduce the spread of MERS virus. Scientists also believe that previous studies of SARS will provide important bases for vaccine production as well as prevent the spread of MERS.