As of 30 June 2015, more than 1350 cases of laboratory
confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
(MERS-CoV) have been reported to WHO. The virus
appears to be circulating widely throughout the Arabian
Peninsula, and the largest number of MERS-CoV cases has
been reported by Saudi Arabia. In April 2014 there was a
sharp increase in the number of cases reported, notably in
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates largely owing to
healthcare-associated outbreaks. In May 2015, another sharp
increase in the number of cases was recorded due to a large
healthcare-associated outbreak.
Human-to-human transmission of MERS-CoV has been
documented in several clusters of cases, including among
family members and in health care facilities in several
countries. While there have been large nosocomial outbreaks
in the Middle East and in the Republic of Korea, so far,
there has been no evidence of sustained human-to-human
transmission