The 2018 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak was a set of infections of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV). The cases were most numerous in, and are believed to have originated from,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. 250 cases of MERS were recorded in 2017, and 249 in 2016. In 2018, there was an early surge in cases, with 21 confirmed cases in February. However, over the whole year, cases were down compared to previous years, with 147 recorded cases.

MERS-CoV

The syndrome originates in countries on the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

, and there is a low general risk to any travelers. Symptoms usually appear 2 to 14 days after exposure, and include fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

Annual summaries

Total laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS world-wide per year were as follows: MERS-CoV worldwide overview Situation update, 6 December 2020
''www.ecdc.europa.eu'', accessed 7 February 2020

Background of cases

On 18 June 2018, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) reported that there were 75 laboratory-confirmed MERS cases in

. The first observed case outside of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

was diagnosed on 23 August 2018 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, being the first case in 5 years in the country. A second case was detected on 8 September 2018 of a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n man who was traveling from the

, being the first diagnosis in that country since the 2015 outbreak. There were also hundreds of suspected cases in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and other parts of the world, most of which were eventually diagnosed as not being MERS infections. Full year totals were as follows:Epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases Infectious disease outbreaks reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2018
See 8. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) ''www.emro.who.int'', accessed 29 January 2020

Response

The Ministry of Health in the Republic of Korea monitored at least 21 individuals who were in close contact with the confirmed case, and placed all identified close contacts in quarantine at their homes.

World Health Organization

The confirmed case in Korea did not change the

(WHO) overall global risk assessment for the disease, and WHO also stated that any additional confirmed cases would also not change the risk, which was deemed as low. However, it does recommend countries to continue to monitor potential cases and to carefully record any unusual patterns.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

After the confirmed case in the United Kingdom, the

ECDC The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an agency of the European Union (EU) whose mission is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It covers a wide spectrum of activities, such as: surveillance, e ...

repeated their risk assessment that close contacts of confirmed cases must be monitored for symptoms for at least 14 days after the last exposure. The organization also repeated that cases of the syndrome were not unexpected and had been observed in Europe before, and the risk of transmission to the general population from the confirmed case was extremely low.

References

{{Epidemics Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak Middle East respiratory syndrome Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak Disease outbreaks in Saudi Arabia 2018 disease outbreaks