Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) came to attention as an emerging pathogen causing severe respiratory illness in patients from the Middle East in September 2012. As of 14 June 2013, 58 human cases of MERS CoV infection have been confirmed, including 33 deaths (case fatality rate of 57%). MERS CoV is a beta-coronavirus, in the same family as SARS-CoV, and shares a probable origin from bats. No animal reservoir or intermediates have been definitely implicated in transmission. Limited human-to-human transmission has occurred within several clusters, as individuals without a recent travel history have become infected after exposure to an ill returned traveler.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11908-013-0344-2 | DOI Listing |
Viruses
January 2025
Global Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.
Human outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are more common in Middle Eastern and Asian human populations, associated with clades A and B. In Africa, where clade C is dominant in camels, human cases are minimal. We reviewed 16 studies (n = 6198) published across seven African countries between 2012 and 2024 to assess human MERS-CoV cases.
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January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
The betacoronavirus genus contains five of the seven human coronaviruses, making it a particularly critical area of research to prepare for future viral emergence. We utilized three human betacoronaviruses, one from each subgenus-HCoV-OC43 (embecovirus), SARS-CoV-2 (sarbecovirus), and MERS-CoV (merbecovirus)-, to study betacoronavirus interactions with the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) pathway of the integrated stress response (ISR)/unfolded protein response (UPR). The PERK pathway becomes activated by an abundance of unfolded proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to phosphorylation of eIF2α and translational attenuation.
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December 2024
Department of Biology, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ 08102, USA.
The nucleocapsid (N) protein is the most expressed protein in later stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection with several important functions. It is translated from a subgenomic mRNA (sgmRNA) formed by template switching during transcription. A recently described translation initiation site (TIS) with a CTG codon in the leader sequence (TIS-L) is out of frame with most structural and accessory genes including the N gene and may act as a translation suppressor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Mathematics, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Mathematical and statistical methods are invaluable in epidemiological investigations, enhancing our understanding of disease transmission dynamics and informing effective control measures. In this study, we presented a method to estimate transmissibility using patient-level data, with application to the 2015 MERS outbreak at Pyeongtaek St. Mary's Hospital, the Republic of Korea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
December 2024
National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
Background: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe respiratory illness in humans and currently lacks an approved vaccine. The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vector is a well-established, safe, and effective platform for vaccine development. With recent advancements in stabilizing coronavirus spike proteins to enhance their antigenicity, this study aimed to determine whether modifications to the MERS-CoV spike protein could improve its presentation on NDV particles, allowing the resulting virus to be used as an inactivated vaccine.
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