MERS
/ˈməːz
/noun [mass noun]
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...
- Australian hospitals have been urged to carry out travel history checks on patients to avoid an outbreak of the deadly MERS virus.
- One patient who was receiving dialysis treatment spread MERS to seven others, including fellow dialysis patients at the same hospital.
- Sales of masks and hand sanitizers have grown since the outbreak of MERS.
Origin
Early 21st century: short for Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome.