MERS Cases Continue to be Confirmed

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported on July 2, 2021, from January 2021 to June 29, 2021, 10 MERS-CoV cases have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (9) and the United Arab Emirates (1), including five deaths.

In Saudi Arabia, all were primary cases, of whom six reported contact with camels. These nine cases were reported in Riyadh (4), Makkah (3), and the Eastern Province (2).

Since April 2012, and as of June 29, 2021, the ECDC reported 2,591 cases of MERS-CoV, including 941 deaths, have been reported by health authorities worldwide.

A previous study published on April 30, 2021, investigated the evolution of human coronaviruses (HCoVs). In this study, the researchers studied amplified fragments of ORF1a/b, Spike (S) gene, ORF3/4a, and ORF4b of four human MERS-CoV strains for tracking the evolution of MERS-CoV over time.

This study concluded 'MERS-CoV appears to evolve continuously. Therefore, it is recommended that future MERS-CoV strains' molecular and pathobiological characteristics be analyzed regularly to prevent potential future outbreaks at early phases.'

As of July 11, 2021, the U.S. FDA has not Approved any MERS vaccine candidates.