Barry Mazin
Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2025 Aug 6;15(1):103. doi: 10.1007/s44197-025-00446-2.
To describe the epidemiological characteristics of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) human cases since the first reported case in 2012.
This is a retrospective descriptive epidemiological analysis of all laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV human cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2012 to May 2025. Cumulative cases globally, along with their demographics, comorbidities, epidemiological exposure, symptoms, hospital admissions, and mortality, were included. Descriptive analysis was used for the data.
Between March 2012 and May 2025, a total of 2,626 laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV human cases were reported to the WHO, with 947 (36.1%) resulting in deaths. The majority of cases occurred in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with 2,217 (84.4%) human cases and 866 (39.1%) deaths. Twenty-six other countries reported human cases, with the highest number occurring in South Korea, which reported 186 cases (7.1%). The highest number of cases occurred in 2014, with 662 (29.9%) cases, followed by 2015, with 453 (20.4%) cases. Almost half of the cases in KSA (44.7%) were secondary infections, and most (83%) required hospital admission, with 39.7% requiring admission to intensive care unit. The most common comorbidities were diabetes mellitus, chronic heart disease, and chronic renal failure. Between 2020 and the end of May 2025, 113 new human cases of MERS-CoV infection (4.3%) were reported, with the majority occurring in KSA. In 2025 alone, 10 new cases were reported, with two deaths. Secondary transmission occurred in 60% of these cases. Seven of the 10 cases were reported in April 2025 alone.
Between 2012 and May 2025, the majority of MERS-CoV infections occurred in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and had a high mortality, reaching 40%. Although most cases were reported between 2014 and 2015, new human cases are still ongoing and are increasing in 2025. Continued epidemiological investigation and surveillance are needed.
描述自2012年首例中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）确诊病例以来的人间病例流行病学特征。
这是一项对2012年至2025年5月期间向世界卫生组织（WHO）报告的所有实验室确诊MERS-CoV人间病例进行的回顾性描述性流行病学分析。纳入全球累计病例，以及其人口统计学特征、合并症、流行病学暴露情况、症状、住院情况和死亡率。对数据进行描述性分析。
2012年3月至2025年5月期间，WHO共收到2626例实验室确诊的MERS-CoV人间病例报告，其中947例（36.1%）死亡。大多数病例发生在沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA），有2217例（84.4%）人间病例，866例（39.1%）死亡。其他26个国家报告了人间病例，其中韩国报告的病例数最多，为186例（7.1%）。病例数最多的年份是2014年，有662例（29.9%），其次是2015年，有453例（20.4%）。沙特阿拉伯近一半（44.7%）的病例为二代感染，大多数（83%）需要住院治疗，39.7%需要入住重症监护病房。最常见的合并症为糖尿病、慢性心脏病和慢性肾衰竭。2020年至2025年5月底，报告了113例新的MERS-CoV人间感染病例（4.3%），大多数病例发生在沙特阿拉伯。仅在2025年就报告了10例新病例，其中2例死亡。这些病例中有60%发生了二代传播。10例病例中有7例仅在2025年4月报告。
2012年至2025年5月期间，大多数MERS-CoV感染发生在沙特阿拉伯王国，死亡率很高，达到40%。尽管大多数病例报告于2014年至2015年之间，但新的人间病例仍在不断出现，2025年病例数有所增加。仍需继续进行流行病学调查和监测。
