Download Federice, Emilia P.

Emilia Federice
Take Home #7
The article I found that had microbiology relevance was from The New York
Times titled “Camels Linked to Spread of Fatal Virus” by Donald G. McNeil Jr.
Basically, what this article discussed was that there have been links between camels
and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus (MERS), which is related to and
similar to SARS. Antibodies that react to the MERS virus have been found in the
blood of camels that have been linked to human death after contact with the camels.
Also, recently, on November 11th, 2013, the virus itself has been found in the pet
camel of a recent victim, which adds a lot of credibility to the link between camels
and MERS. The virus is undergoing genetic tests for confirmation. One particular
case discussed in the article included a 38-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who was
a camel dealer. He himself, his mother, daughter, and cousin all fell ill, with two of
them dying after contact with an ill camel. There have been 153 cases in 9 countries
of MERS, however none have been reported in the United States.
This is related to microbiology because microbiology is the branch of science
that deals with microorganisms – which includes viruses. The MERS virus is being
called MERS-CoV. It is a beta coranavirus. A coronavirus is any of a group of RNA
viruses that cause a variety of diseases in humans and other animals. It is most
similar to coranaviruses found in bats – like in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome). MERS is particularly new and not much is known about it quite yet, but
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring it and
studying it and its progression because it has spread from person to person, and
between countries, which is worrisome if it spreads rapidly and frequently.
Symptoms typically have included fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Nearly 50%
of cases have ended with death. Currently there is no treatment for MERS except
seeking medical attention, and there is no vaccine, but the CDC is discussing with
partners the possibility of developing one.
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/health/camels-linked-to-spread-of-fatalvirus.html
References:
http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/faq.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-mersvirus-found-in-patients-pet-camel.html