Open Access Library Journal How to cite this paper: Dires, B. and Dawo, F. (2015) Review on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Open Access Library Journal, 2: e1749. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1101749 Review on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Berihun Dires 1* , Fufa Dawo 2 1 Department of Animal Science, Gambella University, Gambella, Ethiopia 2 Addis Ababa University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Bishoftu, Ethiopia Received 19 November 2015; accepted 4 December 2015; published 9 December 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and OALib. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a respiratory disease caused by a newly recognized Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It is an RNA virus, with positive sense, single-stranded RNA genomes of 30.1 kilobase (kb). Based on its genome sequence, the virus has been classified within lineage 2C of the genus Betacoronavirus. The disease was first reported in 2012 and is now spreading to different parts of the world. Dromedary camels (Camelus dromeda- rius) are suggested to be the primary animal host that acts as a source of human infection by MERS-CoV. Most patients with MERS-CoV infection have been severely ill with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, and some showed acute kidney injury. There is no specific vaccine or treatment for MERS-CoV infection other than supportive treatment. Collection of the specimens from lower respiratory tract, upper respiratory tract and serum for isolation and cha- racterization of the virus using different techniques such as real time reverse transcription poly- merase chain reaction (RT-rt PCR) and serological tests are recommended. Up to June 18, 2015, 498 of the 1327 cases have died with case fatality rate of ~38% [1]. This emerging infectious dis- ease is a threat to human health. Proper infection-control measures including contact and air- borne precautions should be implemented while managing patients with suspected MERS-CoV in- fection. Keywords Middle East Respiaratory Syndrome-Coronavirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Betacoronavirus, Real Time Reverse Transcription PCR, Serology Subject Areas: Infectious Diseases 1. Introduction Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a respiratory disease caused by a newly recognized coronavirus, * Corresponding author.