Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause a range of illnesses in humans and animals. The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that causes MERS was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Since then, globally, 635 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV have officially been reported to WHO, including 193 deaths. The affected countries in the Middle East include Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen; in Africa: Egypt and Tunisia; in Europe: France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom; in Asia: Malaysia and Philippines; and in North America: the United States of America (USA). All of the cases recently reported outside the Middle East (Egypt, Greece, Malaysia, the Philippines and the USA) recently travelled from countries inside of the Middle East (KSA or UAE).
According to the Expert Meeting held in Oman recently, health experts and veterinarians are among those calling for stepped up monitoring, investigations, and immediate reporting of cases of the potentially fatal MERS, whose origins may be linked to animals. A declaration at a regional technical consultation meeting, convened by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Sultanate of Oman, warned countries in the region and beyond of the need for public health and veterinary authorities to carry out coordinated investigations, and share information and results. The majority of cases have occurred through human-to-human transmission, however it remains to be determined if people may have been infected by contact with environmental or animal sources. Several studies have reported high proportions of camels with antibodies against MERS-CoV or that of a closely-related virus, both in countries where human cases were detected and also in countries with no reported cases. Some of these studies have shown that MERS-CoV has been circulating in camels in Saudi Arabia since at least 1992. Genetic evidence of MERS-CoV infection was found in tests of camel samples from a farm in Qatar and in other studies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. 
