State of Knowledge and Data Gaps of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-

CoV cases from nine countries were notified to WHO. Methods: We summarize what is known about the epidemiology, virology, phylogeny and emergence of MERS-CoV to inform public health policies. Results: The median age of patients (n=161) was 50 years (range 14 months to 94 years), 64.5 % were male and 63.4 % experienced severe respiratory disease. 76.0 % of patients were reported to have ≥1 underlying medical condition and fatal cases, compared to recovered or asymptomatic cases were more likely to have an underlying condition (86.8 % vs. 42.4%, p0 is Conclusions: Sustained human-to-human transmission of MERS-CoV has not been observed. Outbreaks have been extinguished without overly aggressive isolation and quarantine suggesting that transmission of virus may be stopped with implementation of appropriate infection control measures. Background The first case of a novel coronavirus, now called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), was identified in a patient with acute pneumonia and renal failure in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in June 2012 1. Following identification of the virus a subsequent case from Qatar who was being treated in the UK was identified 2 and a hospital cluster of pneumonia among health care workers in Zarqa, Jordan in March/April o