MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS: AN EMERGING INFECTION
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ABOUT AUTHORS:
Suresh Rewar1*, Dashrath Mirdha2, Prahlad Rewar3
1Department of pharmaceutics, Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, Jaipur, Rajasthan,
2Dr. Sarvepali Radhakrishnan Rajasthan Ayurved University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
3Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
sureshrewar1990@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
A severe viral illness caused by a newly discovered coronavirus was first reported in the Middle East in 2012. The virus has since been named the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS-CoV cases have been reported in several countries around the world in travelers from the Middle East., A substantial number of Indians live and work in Gulf countries. People from India also travel to Saudi Arabia as Pilgrims to Hajj. The illness has a high mortality rate. Limited human-to-human transmission has occurred including transmission to health care workers. The source of the virus remains unclear, but camels are a possible source. Since April 2012 and as of 20 February 2015, 1042 cases (including 419 deaths) of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported by local health authorities worldwide. Laboratory confirmation of MERS-CoV infections to date has largely been by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) of lower respiratory tract specimens. Neither a vaccine nor effective therapy against the virus is available. Treatment consists of limited to supportive care, including mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure and/or hemodialysis in the setting of renal failure. Therapeutic modalities based on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have shown clinical success in the treatment of many diseases.
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