Epidemiologist in Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Resalat Street, Urmia, Iran.
BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Apr 27;19(1):351. doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-3987-2.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is considered to be responsible for a new viral epidemic and an emergent threat to global health security. This study describes the current epidemiological status of MERS-CoV in the world.
Epidemiological analysis was performed on data derived from all MERS-CoV cases recorded in the disease outbreak news on WHO website between 1.1.2017 and 17.1.2018. Demographic and clinical information as well as potential contacts and probable risk factors for mortality were extracted based on laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV cases.
A total of 229 MERS-CoV cases, including 70 deaths (30.5%), were recorded in the disease outbreak news on world health organization website over the study period. Based on available details in this study, the case fatality rate in both genders was 30.5% (70/229) [32.1% (55/171) for males and 25.8% (15/58) for females]. The disease occurrence was higher among men [171 cases (74.7%)] than women [58 cases (25.3%)]. Variables such as comorbidities and exposure to MERS-CoV cases were significantly associated with mortality in people affected with MERS-CoV infections, and adjusted odds ratio estimates were 2.2 (95% CI: 1.16, 7.03) and 2.3 (95% CI: 1.35, 8.20), respectively. All age groups had an equal chance of mortality.
In today's "global village", there is probability of MERS-CoV epidemic at any time and in any place without prior notice. Thus, health systems in all countries should implement better triage systems for potentially imported cases of MERS-CoV to prevent large epidemics.
中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）被认为是引发新的病毒性传染病和对全球卫生安全的新兴威胁的罪魁祸首。本研究描述了 MERS-CoV 在全球的当前流行病学状况。
对世界卫生组织网站上 2017 年 1 月 1 日至 2018 年 1 月 17 日记录的所有 MERS-CoV 病例的疫情新闻数据进行了流行病学分析。根据实验室确诊的 MERS-CoV 病例，提取了人口统计学和临床信息以及潜在接触者和可能导致死亡的危险因素。
在研究期间，世界卫生组织网站上的疫情新闻共记录了 229 例 MERS-CoV 病例，其中 70 例死亡（30.5%）。根据本研究中提供的详细信息，两性的病死率均为 30.5%（70/229）[男性为 32.1%（55/171），女性为 25.8%（15/58）]。男性（171 例，74.7%）的疾病发生率高于女性（58 例，25.3%）。在 MERS-CoV 感染者中，合并症和接触 MERS-CoV 病例等变量与死亡率显著相关，调整后的优势比估计值分别为 2.2（95%CI：1.16，7.03）和 2.3（95%CI：1.35，8.20）。所有年龄组的死亡机会均等。
在当今的“地球村”中，MERS-CoV 随时可能在任何地方爆发，且事先没有任何预警。因此，所有国家的卫生系统都应实施更好的分诊系统，以防止潜在输入性 MERS-CoV 病例引发大规模疫情。
