An infectious disease with initial symptoms including fever and cough and progressing in a fairly high proportion of cases to pneumonia and respiratory failure. It is caused by a coronavirus.
 he was officially diagnosed with MERS earlier this week
 Example sentencesExamples
-  Sales of masks and hand sanitizers have grown since the outbreak of MERS.
 -  Blood tests show that his immune system has made antibodies to fight the MERS coronavirus - an indication that he has been infected.
 -  One patient who was receiving dialysis treatment spread MERS to seven others, including fellow dialysis patients at the same hospital.
 -  Australian hospitals have been urged to carry out travel history checks on patients to avoid an outbreak of the deadly MERS virus.
 -  The estimated fatality rate for MERS still is far higher than what's seen with seasonal flu or other routine infections.