Why MERS virus is so scary

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Why MERS virus is so scary

By Laurie Garrett, Special to CNN
June 2, 2013 -- Updated 1544 GMT (2344 HKT)

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MERS-CoV is a coronavirus, like the one shown above, so-called because it looks like it's surrounded by a crown, or corona.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The head of WHO said MERS CoV virus found in Saudi Arabia threatens "the entire world"
Laurie Garrett: It's alarming that of 49 cases, 27 -- that's 52% -- have died
Garrett: The virus related to SARS, and scientists worry it could spread as fast
MERS emerged in a difficult region, she says, and threatens Syrian refugees



Editor's note: Laurie Garrett is senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
(CNN) -- The head of the World Health Organization warned the world this week of a new virus, awkwardly dubbed MERS-CoV, found in Saudi Arabia.
"Looking at the overall global situation, my greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus," Margaret Chan said, calling it "a threat to the entire world."
"We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat," the director general said in her closing speech to the 66th session of the World Health Assembly. "Any new disease that is emerging faster than our understanding is never under control.
"These are alarm bells and we must respond. The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself."


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With just 49 cases of the new disease reported since June 2012, it may seem puzzling that Chan named the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus -- MERS CoV or MERS for short -- the greatest threat to world health today.