Researchers sound warning on MERS virus: Only a fraction of cases are being detected, study suggests

A new analysis of MERS case data suggests a large number of infections are going undetected, with the researchers estimating that for each case that has been found, five to 10 may have been missed. The scientific paper, from European researchers, further suggests that transmission of the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus is occurring at a rate close to the threshold where it would be considered able to pass from person to person in a sustained manner. In fact, the authors say, based on the available evidence they cannot rule out the possibility that person-to-person spread is the main mode of transmission of the virus at this point. The other option, they say, is that the virus is spreading via a combination of animal-to-person and then person-to-person transfer. “We conclude that a slow growing epidemic is underway, but current epidemiological data do not allow us to determine whether transmission is self-sustaining in man,”...