Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS):
What is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is beta-coronavirus genetically related to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) coronavirus.
MERS is a viral respiratory illness that first emerged from Arabian Peninsula.
It does not transmit from person to person
| Fact Table: | Information: |
| Formal binomial name of microbe: | MERS-Coronavirus |
| Gram stain (gram positive, gram negative or neither): | Neither |
| Is the microbe mobile or immobile? | It is mobile. |
| Primary habitat? (Where is the organism normally found or prefer to live?) | It came from bats and camels. |
| Can the organism infect humans? | It is unknown but suspected saliva and fomites. |
| Can the organism infect other species? If so, which ones. | Bats and Camel |
| Documented cases of antimicrobial resistance? | No documented resistances because it is still pretty new. |
| Number of infections per year in the US | 2014: 2 cases |
| Number of infections per year in the world | 2019: 2264 cases |