Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus, MERS, or CoV
A second new virus, similar to SARS and named Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV), has been popping up in the Middle East since last summer and was first described in the New England Journal of Medicine in November.
The virus is a coronavirus, the same family of viruses that unleashed SARS a decade ago. SARS infected 8,273 people and caused 775 deaths worldwide.
It is making waves this week as recent cases have been found in France and 13 new cases have been announced in the past couple weeks, according to Science Magazine.
The virus has killed a total of 18 people, according to FluTrackers. While the number of people infected by this new virus is low, 33 according to reports, there's concern over a few clusters of cases that could indicate that the virus can be transmitted easily between people.
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