I see #MERS trending - a few thoughts on it. MERS is a coronavirus, just like SARS-CoV-2, but there are many differences: MERS is primarily transmitted from camels to humans by zoonotic transmission. It is continuously circulating in camels which themselves do not get very sick
Unlike SARS-CoV-2, the virus is replicating in humans in the lower respiratory tract, therefore it's not easily transmitted between humans unless there are special conditions that favor transmission (eg health-care related). At-risk of infection are those with close camel contact
Very unlikely that someone who visits a soccer game without close camel contact contracts MERS. So while I am not worried about MERS in this setting, constant spillover gives the virus a chance to adapt. We should keep an eye on MERS but also important to be clear about risks
If someone returns from the Middle East with a severe unclear respiratory infections (more likely causes like SARSCoV2, influenza, RSV ruled out) and has had contact to camels, of course the diagnostic testing makes sense! There is a specific PCR for MERS available.
MERS was the first highly pathogenic coronavirus I started working with in 2012 & is an incredibly exciting virus with so many remaining research questions! A lot of the work we did in our lab on #SARSCoV2 was only possible because of the work done before for MERS!
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