It’s coming.
It bided its time infecting camels.
But now the demon has escaped. A mutation has set the virus free.
And it is here!…the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome! (MERS).
Millions will fall prey to it merciless infection, civilization will collapse, and The Walking Dead will experience a revival as a sitcom.
Well, maybe not.
Actually, the World Health Organization declared that the virus is not (yet) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. So hold off on the panic. In the mean time, here’s a handy MERS fact sheet:
What is it?
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is a type of coronavirus. The coronavirus family also includes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus that caused a worldwide outbreak in 2003.
Less dramatically, coronaviruses are a major cause of the common cold.
Where did it come from?
MERS was first diagnosed in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, back in 2012.
Why should we be scared of MERS?
About 25% of patients infected with MERS die.
Since MERS is a virus, it cannot be treated with antibiotics. So far, there is no vaccine.
MERS bears some similarities to SARS, which killed hundreds of people in 2003.
More than one hundred people have already died of MERS. Two cases have been identified in the United States.
Why not panic?
MERS does not pass easily between humans. It is certainly less contagious than SARS.
According to Dr. Ann Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the
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