MERS-CoV Outbreak Response Unit

Status: active - level 1

Last updated on 14 January 2026

Key points

The ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS MIE) opened a level 1 Outbreak Response Unit for MERS-CoV, beginning with a research meeting on 11 December 2025.

In 2025, 19 cases of MERS-CoV were reported worldwide. Seventeen cases, including four deaths, were reported in Saudi Arabia. Two cases were imported into France at the end of the year, but no secondary transmission was detected.

What you need to know about MERS-CoV:

  • It remains a pathogen with high epidemic potential, considering its significant fatality rate of around 36%.
  • There is currently no specific treatment or approved vaccine.
  • There remains a potential risk for the United Kingdom and Europe, linked to international travel and under-diagnosis.
  • It is recommended that enhanced surveillance be maintained, research (diagnostics, vaccines, treatments) be supported, and cooperation with international authorities be strengthened.

What is MERS-CoV?

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by MERS-CoV, an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus from the same family of coronaviruses as SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.

Since its identification in Saudi Arabia in 2012, 2,642 confirmed cases of MERS-CoV have been reported in 27 countries, including 2,200 in Saudi Arabia (84%), with a total of 958 deaths. [1]

This pathogen has a high epidemic potential and is associated with a high case fatality rate among confirmed cases (approximately 36%), which is likely to be overestimated due to under-detection of asymptomatic or mild infections.

To date, there is no specific antiviral treatment or approved vaccine against MERS-CoV, although several vaccine candidates are under development.

MERS-CoV remains a global research priority due to its high case fatality rate, epidemic potential, and the lack of specific treatment and vaccine.

Current situation

Two French cases

Two human cases of MERS-CoV were confirmed in France at the end of 2025. Both patients had a history of travel to the Arabian Peninsula, where they are believed to have contracted the virus. Epidemiological investigations were conducted to determine the chains of transmission. No secondary cases were identified.

Before 2025, only two cases of MERS-CoV had been reported in France since 2013: the first involved a traveller returning from the United Arab Emirates and the second was a patient who had shared his hospital room.

Elsewhere in the world

In 2025, apart from the two French cases, 17 cases of MERS-CoV, including 4 deaths, were reported in Saudi Arabia alone. [2]

Actions undertaken by the ANRS MIE

ANRS MIE supports numerous research projects on coronaviruses. This pathogen is widely discussed in its various actions, particularly within the coordinated actions (AC): AC Respiratory Viruses, AC Respiratory Virus Vaccine and AC Transmission.

Find out more about the Emergence programme

References

  1. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia (OMS, 2025).
  2. Geographical distribution of confirmed cases of MERS-CoV by reporting country, April 2012 – 10 December 2025 (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2025).