47 dead by virus transmitted by bats

47 dead by virus transmitted by bats

08/25/2013

Bats have been identified as vectors of coronavirus MERS. So far, 47 people have died in the Middle East and Europe.

High mortality rate
According to experts, bats from Saudi Arabia carry the dangerous coronavirus MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). Since then, 47 people have died in the Middle East and Europe, and 49 have fallen ill. The mortality rate in infected people is thus almost 50 percent. Scientists have been studying the virus for 15 months, first identified in September 2012 in patients with severe respiratory infection. Loud „Bild.de“ Researchers have studied animals in Eastern Europe and Africa with similar diseases. The discovery of a bat in a grave in Egypt then brought the breakthrough.

Extreme breathing problems
Meanwhile, it is clear that it is a pathogen that belongs to the extremely dangerous coronaviruses. These viruses have caused extreme breathing problems in humans. Similarities could also to the respiratory disease discovered in Asia ten years ago „SARS“ which cost 800 lives at the time. However, the puzzle is not yet finally solved, because the doctors would know that the infected animal from the city of Bisha in Saudi Arabia comes, but would remain unclear how the disease was transmitted to humans.

Not as dangerous as SARS
Since the bat that currently carries the germ does not bite people, it gets loud „Bild.de“ suspected that the germ is transmitted to humans via another animal host, such as sheep, goats, camels or cows. Currently, the researchers would assume that MERS is not as dangerous as SARS. On the one hand, MERS occurs mainly in people who have had health problems before, and on the other hand, it would rarely happen that people were infected with each other. (Ad)

Picture credits: Gaiarama