Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome is a viral respiratory illness that is still very new to human beings. It first emerged in the Arabian Peninsula in the year 2012. In the beginning of the year 2014, there were many cases that were reported on the increase of the infections worldwide. The reason why the increase of the disease happened is still unknown but CDC (Centers of Disease Control) has been working on the case to further establish the nature that the virus has. The rate at which the disease is spreading through the cases that have been reported is very alarming and therefore calls for intervention from the larger medical community. The virus can only be tackled through joint efforts that will ensure that the virus can be contained. 30% of people who had been confirmed to have the virus have been reported dead before anything could be done.
MERS Virus
The virus that causes the disease is known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavius (Mers-CoV). The Corona viruses are types of viruses that human beings acquire in their life time. The human corona viruses usually lead to the cause of mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses. The virus in MERS is however very different from all other virus infections that are caused by corona viruses. This is one of the main factors that have made the virus to pose such a huge risk on the human population. It has also made it very challenging for the researchers to come with anything concrete to fight the disease and find a cure that will see the people that are infected with this virus with higher survival chances than there are currently.
The origin of the virus is still unknown but there are speculations that it might have come from animals. Researchers’ doing the research on the virus found the virus in camels that were from different countries and was also found in a bat in Saudi Arabia. The source was not however been established whether it was from the camels or whether it was from the bat. It however, stirred up the speculations that the source was an animal and not human beings. Research is however underway and it needs more evidence to prove that the disease originated from the animals that were found with the disease. This is because they could have as well got the infection from human beings.
MERS Symptoms
Most of the people who have been found to be infected with the virus had mild symptoms while others had no symptoms at all. They however developed severe respiratory illnesses that were not normal for human beings. They were also reported to have fever, shortness of breath and cough. Others also reported to have gastrointestinal symptoms that were nausea/vomiting and diarrhea and kidney failure. Therefore the virus has mixed symptoms with some people even not having the symptoms and therefore making it more difficult to contain the virus. From the symptoms, doctors have stated that the disease is very deadly and efforts have to be put in place so that it can be contained. The disease is hard to notice due to the symptoms that it has. It can lead to the doctors believing it’s another disease through the symptoms and making it difficult for it to be noticed and treated.
People with respiratory problems are always checked for the disease alongside other checks. This is because the disease has many mixed symptoms and can only be identified the patient is diagnosed for the disease. This is one of the sure ways that the doctors can confirm if their patients have the MERS disease.
The disease does not appear to be transmittable from humans to humans and animals have appeared to be the prime suspects of the transmission. Since the disease is still new to the human world, there have been only little advancements that have been made and they still are not reliable in certain ventures in the disease in both the prevention and cure. It will take some time for the doctors to be able to come up with something that is concrete and reliable so that they can be able to treat this disease. The researchers are however gaining fruits slowly as it can be seen in the case where its existence in animals was proven. This can be a very important lead that can be used by the researchers to find the correct medicine and methods to treat it.
About Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome
The disease was first noted in the United States on 2nd May 2014. This was from a traveler who travelled frequently to Saudi Arabia. He had just come from a trip to Saudi Arabia before it was discovered that he had the disease. Another traveler from Saudi Arabia to the United States was also confirmed to have the disease on 11th May 2014. The two cases were however not linked in any way and occurred separately to people who did not know each other. The disease has also been reported in 22 other countries among them the United Kingdom, Italy and Malaysia. Almost all the cases that were reported in all these countries were linked to Saudi Arabia.
There are no vaccines and medicines that have been developed as of now. People that have the disease are offered supportive treatment that is based on their clinical condition. The doctors use the knowledge that is available to them so that they can treat the illness. However, as has been stated, the advancements that are being made are showing positive results and soon a cure or prevention could be found. This will prove to be very important due to the increase in its cases in the Arabian Peninsula.
Despite the increase in the cases of the disease, there are no travel restrictions that have been issued to countries that are affected like Saudi Arabia. This is because there is no prove that the disease can be passed from a human to a human. People are however advised to always take precaution when they are making contact with animals. Animals have remained to be the main possible carrier of the disease and can distribute it to humans if precautions are not taken as required.
