Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a betacoronavirus first identified in 2012. It is a zoonotic infection in which dromedary camels serve as the principal animal reservoir and intermediate host for transmission to humans, with limited hum…
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a betacoronavirus first identified in 2012. It is a zoonotic infection in which dromedary camels serve as the principal animal reservoir and intermediate host for transmission to humans, with limited human-to-human spread documented chiefly in healthcare settings. MERS-CoV uses dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) as its cellular receptor, distinguishing it from SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, which engage angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Clinically, MERS ranges from asymptomatic or mild illness to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and extrapulmonary complications including renal failure, and it has been associated with a high case fatality among reported symptomatic cases. As one of three coronaviruses to have caused major human outbreaks, MERS-CoV is studied comparatively alongside other human and animal coronaviruses through genomic, evolutionary, and spike-glycoprotein analyses to inform diagnosis, surveillance, and countermeasure development. The International Journal of Coronaviruses publishes peer-reviewed research across the coronavirus family, including comparative molecular and evolutionary characterisation of human and animal coronaviruses, viral origin and zoonotic transmission, and the development of treatment and prevention strategies relevant to MERS-CoV and related betacoronaviruses.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 26 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on MERS, linking to each citing work.