Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV, Betacoronavirus cameli) or EMC/2012 (HCoV-EMC/2012), is the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It is a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. The infecting virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to the DPP4 receptor. The species is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and subgenus Merbecovirus.

Initially called simply novel coronavirus or nCoV, with the provisional names 2012 novel coronavirus (2012-nCoV) and human coronavirus 2012 (HCoV-12 or hCoV-12), it was first reported in June 2012 after genome sequencing of a virus isolated from sputum samples from a person who fell ill in a 2012 outbreak of a new flu-like respiratory illness. By July 2015, MERS-CoV cases had been reported in over 21 countries, in Europe, North America and Asia as well as the Middle East. MERS-CoV is one of several viruses identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a likely cause of a future epidemic. They list it for urgent research and development. In 2022, a new MERS-related Coronavirus, NeoCoV, was identified in bats, which was found to pose a potential pandemic risk.