Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials

Warnes, Sarah L.; Little, Zoë R.; Keevil, C. William

There are concerns about the pandemic potential of MERS, especially if the efficiency of interhuman transmission increases (46) . The majority of cases have been in the Middle East, and concerns have been expressed because Ͼ2.5 million pilgrims attend the Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, aggregating from Ͼ180 countries. Analysis of data since June 2012 resulted in estimates that the risks of transmission are low (47, 48) , but members of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) UK Novel Coronavirus Investigation team (49) have observed person-to-person transmission within a family cluster in the United Kingdom contracted from a family member who had visited Saudi Arabia. They also observed that the spectrum of symptoms of MERS, including mild and asymptomatic disease, is wider than initially realized and that spread of the virus may therefore already be greater than expected. MERS has so far killed 36 people and infected 186 patients in hospital-associated cases in South Korea associated with the first