Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a severe respiratory illness that happens from a type of coronavirus called MERS-CoV. Experts first saw MERS in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The illness has similar symptoms to COVID-19, but it’s not as contagious. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 2,519 cases of MERS as of January 2020. While 27 countries have had cases, 80% of the infections are in Saudi Arabia. Researchers believe that 3 or 4 out of every 10 people with MERS have died. But this might not be fully accurate because a lot of mild cases are undiagnosed. MERS may have come from bats and then spread to other animals before it spread to humans. Experts believe that it first spread to camels, who then spread it to people. In most cases, you’ll have respiratory, or lung-related, symptoms like: Fever Cough Shortness of breath Other side effects of MERS not related to your lungs include: c Nausea Vomiting These symptoms will most likely show up within 2 to 14 days after you...