Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV)

A respiratory disease caused by the MERS coronavirus; cases occur mainly in the Arabian Peninsula and are linked to dromedary camels and health-care–associated transmission.

How it spreads

Contact with infected dromedary camels or raw camel milk; human-to-human spread occurs mainly through close contact in health-care settings, without sustained community transmission.

Common symptoms

Fever, cough and shortness of breath, often progressing to pneumonia; diarrhoea may occur. People with chronic conditions (including kidney disease and diabetes) are at higher risk of severe illness.

When to seek care

Fever with respiratory symptoms within 14 days of returning from the Middle East — seek care promptly and mention travel and camel exposure.

Prevention & treatment

Avoid contact with camels, do not drink raw camel milk, hand hygiene; infection prevention in health facilities. No licensed human vaccine or specific treatment is available yet.

Unknowns & ongoing research

Human and camel vaccines are in clinical trials; the proportion of asymptomatic infections and community transmission risk are not fully understood.

Related WHO notices

WHO Disease Outbreak News · Last successful update on this site: 2026-11-12 01:10 UTC

Official sources & interactive data