MERS-CoV incidence in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and worldwide : general review article

Abstract EN

In recent years, several outbreaks of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) were reported to the WHO by Saudi Arabia (2014, 2015, and 2017) and the Republic of Korea (2015).

These large outbreaks indicate that MERS-CoV, if not adequately controlled, can cause severe outbreaks and negative socio-economic consequences.

The disease was identified and reported in 27 countries around the world, particularly in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.

The total number of laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases reported to the WHO between 2012 and 21 July 2017 was 2040, of which 1672 (82%) were reported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Since the 5th December 2016, about 190 cases were confirmed in Saudi Arabia, out of which 63 were reported in one outbreak and four different clusters in the Riyadh region.

This review discusses the background of the disease along with its epidemiology, risk factors, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, vaccination, prevention and control.

The review also concludes with some future perspectives.