Genetics and Epidemiology of Middle East Respiratory Syndromecoronavirus (Mers-Cov)

Background and aims: middle east respiratory syndrome (mers) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus. after the primary onset of mers in saudi arabia, in september 2015 cases began to increase. the number of laboratory-affirmed cases by mers-cov in the middle east has been being increased recently. methods: in this current review article, by using the terms “mers” and “coronavirus” we first searched for english language articles in the pubmed database, published in last five years. then by a detailed review of related articles, we provided a comprehensive information about epidemiology, genetic, host and coronavirus treatment. results: more importantly, evidences of human-to-human transmission in europe and america indicate that the viral adaptations in humans may precede a large-scale epidemic. the genome of coronaviruses is a linear positive-sense single stranded large rna and they are enveloped viruses that have a helical symmetric nucleocapsid. some new insights have been provided in previous few months in to the animal coronavirus hosts, transmissibility, contagion of mers co-v and ideal laboratory diagnostic methods. conclusion: it seems crucial to control this new human infection “mers-cov” by collaborating global and local health authorities and their continual support for further research on it.