Thursday, May 16, 2013

New SARS cousin finally has a name : MERS

Every virus needs a catchy name, and now the new coronavirus linked to the Middle East that has infected 40 people and killed half of them has one: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus or (MERS-CoV).
Various scientists have been calling it MERS, but the Coronavirus Study Group, which groups experts from around the world, made it official on Thursday.
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“We know that when people get infected, many of them develop severe pneumonia. What we don't know is how often people might develop mild disease. We also know that most of the persons who have been infected so far have been older men, often with other medical conditions. We are not sure why we are seeing this pattern and if it will change over time,” WHO added.
“The greatest global concern, however, is about the potential for this new virus to spread.”


Full Article:  http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/16/18303278-new-sars-cousin-finally-has-a-name-mers

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