MERS: Information Links

WEBSITE Links for MERS Information

One Health Initiative (OHI) - http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications.php

How to fight MERS and other zoonotic diseases *Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, columnist - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists  “Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has sickened at least 495 people, killed 141, and now popped up in the United States, has much in common with other recent outbreaks, including SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed some 775 patients in 2002 and 2003: They can spread rapidly across borders, stir up fear in the public, and be transmitted from human to human. The most important shared characteristic of ailments like MERS, SARS, Ebola, avian influenza, West Nile virus, and even diseases of bioterrorism like anthrax, though, is the fact that they are zoonotic: That is, they originate in animals and then spread to humans. And this fact points the way to fighting them. Only through a “One Health” approach, which treats human and animal health as all part of the same system, can they be prevented. …” Read the entire column *Dr. Kahn, a physician, is a founding member of the One Health Initiative team/One Health Initiative website.  She is also a widely published internationally renowned One Health leader and expert on the subject.

 

WHO - Coronavirus Infections   http://www.who.int/csr/disease/coronavirus_infections/en/

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause a range of illnesses in humans, from the common cold to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Viruses in this family also cause a number of animal diseases. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) This strain of coronavirus that causes MERS was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Our understanding of the virus and the disease it causes is continuing to evolve.

WHO - Coronavirus global response and alerts http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/coronavirus_infections/en/

CDC -  Middle East Respiratory Syndrome http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_feature_001

CIDRAP – Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/infectious-disease-topics/mers-cov

EcoHealth Alliance   http://www.ecohealthalliance.org

EcoHealth Alliance offers links to published MERS reports and articles as well as online forums.

HuffPost: Surprised by MERS? The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, By William “Billy” Karesh

Promed Mail, May 17, 2014  http://www.promedmail.org

Background ---------- Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus is a virus that is new to humans and was 1st reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. As of [16 May 2014], there have been 572 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS in 15 countries. Most of these people developed severe acute respiratory illness, with fever, cough, and shortness of breath; 173 people died. Officials do not know where the virus came from or exactly how it spreads. There is no available vaccine or specific treatment recommended for the virus.

For more information about MERS-CoV, please visit:

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html

Frequently Asked MERS Questions and Answers: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/faq.html

Indiana State Department of Health: http://www.state.in.us/isdh/

Illinois Department of Public Health: http://www.idph.state.il.us/