MERS
MERS is a severe respiratory illness linked to camels that has caused sporadic outbreaks, mostly on the Arabian Peninsula, with a notably high fatality rate.
Snapshot: 9/6/2026, 12:01:37 AM · 3 tracked locations · 44 active cases (dataset)
At a glance
Quick facts
- How it spreads
- Human infections are often linked to direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels or camel products such as unpasteurized milk.
- How serious
- About 34.6 of every 100 confirmed cases died
- Where it's active
- Highest current burden: Saudi Arabia (SA) and United Arab Emirates (AE).
- Vaccine / treatment
- Avoiding unprotected contact with camels and unpasteurized camel products in affected regions reduces spillover risk.
Important
Virus Tracker provides aggregated outbreak monitoring for education and situational awareness. It is not medical advice, a diagnostic service, or a substitute for guidance from qualified health professionals or official public health agencies. Always consult licensed clinicians and authoritative sources for personal health decisions.
Overview
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is caused by a coronavirus distinct from SARS-CoV-2. Since its identification, cases have been reported mainly in countries on or near the Arabian Peninsula, with occasional travel-related cases elsewhere. Dromedary camels are a known reservoir and source of spillover infections, and healthcare settings have been the site of significant transmission clusters when infection control lapses. The high case-fatality rate observed in confirmed cases keeps MERS on the list of pathogens prioritized for pandemic preparedness research. Virus Tracker presents regional signals where open data is available.
Transmission
Human infections are often linked to direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels or camel products such as unpasteurized milk. Human-to-human transmission occurs mainly through close contact, especially in healthcare settings without adequate infection prevention and control measures.
Symptoms & clinical notes
Typical illness includes fever, cough, and shortness of breath, which can progress to pneumonia and, in many severe cases, respiratory failure. Gastrointestinal symptoms sometimes occur. People with underlying health conditions face substantially higher risk of severe outcomes.
Prevention & control
Avoiding unprotected contact with camels and unpasteurized camel products in affected regions reduces spillover risk. Rigorous infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities is critical to prevent the hospital-based clusters seen in past outbreaks. No vaccine is yet licensed for general use.
Surveillance context
Surveillance combines human case reporting with camel and environmental monitoring in endemic areas. Rapid identification and isolation of suspect cases in hospitals has been central to controlling past clusters.
Live dataset
Key metrics
Active cases
44
Deaths
948
How fast it's spreading
5.2%
RisingMERS — global infection heat map
Country shading reflects relative active-case intensity from the current Virus Tracker dataset for this pathogen. Hover countries on desktop for counts.
Darker red = more people currently sick.
Live dataset
Trajectory outlook
Projected case trend with a modeled confidence range.
Projected case trajectory for MERS, with a shaded confidence range, based on the current Virus Tracker dataset.
Illustrative estimateLive dataset
Top regions by active cases
The 3 tracked locations with the most active MERS cases in the current dataset.
Top 3 tracked locations for MERS by active cases, ranked highest to lowest.
Live dataset
Threat intelligence visuals
No threats to compare
There isn't enough data yet to plot how fast threats are spreading against how deadly they are.
Where this data comes from
10 of 15 sources are reporting normally.
- 10 healthy sourcesHealthy
- 5 sources downDown
- Data reliability
- 0%
- Confidence-adjusted exposure
- 0
No regions yet
There's no severity data to rank right now.
Dataset
Top affected regions
| Location | Active | Deaths | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia (SA) | 38 | 920 | Rising |
| United Arab Emirates (AE) | 4 | 15 | Rising |
| Jordan (JO) | 2 | 13 | Rising |
Frequently asked questions
How do people catch MERS?
Often through contact with infected camels or unpasteurized camel milk in affected regions. It can also spread between people, particularly in healthcare settings without strong infection control.
Is there a vaccine for MERS?
No vaccine is currently licensed for general public use, though candidates have been studied in clinical trials.
How deadly is MERS?
Confirmed cases have had a case-fatality rate of roughly 35%, though this may be an overestimate since milder infections are likely underdiagnosed.
Where does MERS mostly occur?
The large majority of cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia and other countries on or near the Arabian Peninsula, with occasional cases linked to travel elsewhere.
Is this page medical advice?
Virus Tracker provides aggregated outbreak monitoring for education and situational awareness. It is not medical advice, a diagnostic service, or a substitute for guidance from qualified health professionals or official public health agencies. Always consult licensed clinicians and authoritative sources for personal health decisions.
What does "outbreak activity" mean on Virus Tracker?
Outbreak activity reflects active-case burden relative to recoveries in our models. It helps compare stressed outbreak zones within the dataset—it is not a clinical score.
How often is this wiki updated?
Figures refresh on the site’s ingestion and revalidation schedule (typically about every 30 minutes in production). Timestamps on the dashboard snapshot indicate the last build of the underlying dataset.
Why might the heat map not match official government totals?
We merge multiple open sources and fallbacks; reporting lag, testing policy, and geographic coverage differ by country. Use national health ministries for authoritative case definitions.
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