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What does MERS mean?

MERS means Middle East Respiratory Syndroms

Mers is a corona virus that is very similar to the SARS virus that popped up in Asia in 2003 and can lead to deadly inflammations on the respiratory tract. At the end of May 2013, the WHO warned of this MERS virus after it took more than 20 lives. The cases known to date have shown several symptoms, primarily causing severe respiratory tract complaints. This creates a cough and trouble breathing, often followed by a fever. It is not currently known whether these symptoms are common or only occur in extreme cases. The symptoms are similar to a severe cold, but can worsen, causing a GP or hospital to be given a pneumonia. As far as known spread the virus itself in the same way as the flu: you can infect others by coughing, hawkinging or sneezing. There is still no vaccine available against the virus, however there is a test available to show the virus, people in which MERS-CoV are suspected will be hospitalized. More information about MERS can be found on the RIVM website.

Deadly MERS Virus spreads To U.S. -May 2, 2014 [YouTube] 6_Qut9C7xYM [/youtube]

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