MERS: first case reported in Saudi Arabia

On September 20, 2012, a report appeared on ProMed from Saudi Arabia of a case of a novel coronavirus isolated from a male aged 60 years, who died 3 months earlier on June 6, 2012. [1, 2]

The novel betacoronavirus (HCoV-EM) was in time classified as Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the virus does not seem to pass easily from person to person. [6]

Early genetic characterization led to the recognition that MERS-CoV was related to SARS-CoV and was thought to have a bat reservoir, and transferred through a camel.

As of October 2021 there have been 2578 MERS cases over 27 countries with 888 deaths reported since April 2012, making a global case fatality rate of 34.4%. [4, 5, 7]

“The emergence of new infectious global threats in the past four decades (e.g. AIDS, H5N1, SARS) has reshaped thinking at the national and international level on the nature and level of public health responses needed for these threats.” [3]