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Year : 2014 | Volume
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| Issue : 5 | Page : 244 |
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Diarrhea as an atypical presentation in Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) 2012 |
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Sora Yasri1, Viroj Wiwanitkit2
1 KMT Primary Health Care Center, Bangkok, Thailand 2 Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China; Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Nigeria; University of Nis, Serbia
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Date of Web Publication | 9-Apr-2015 |
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How to cite this article: Yasri S, Wiwanitkit V. Diarrhea as an atypical presentation in Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) 2012. Ann Trop Med Public Health 2014;7:244 |
How to cite this URL: Yasri S, Wiwanitkit V. Diarrhea as an atypical presentation in Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) 2012. Ann Trop Med Public Health [serial online] 2014 [cited 2021 Apr 13];7:244. Available from: https://www.atmph.org/text.asp?2014/7/5/244/154828 |
Dear Sir,
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a new emerging viral infection, spreading from its origin in Saudi Arabia. [1],[2],[3] This disease is a kind of acute respiratory tract infection and the fatality rate is very high. Due to the trend of possible worldwide pandemic, this disease is under special focus of the World Health Organization (WHO). Generally, the patient presents with fever, cough, and respiratory difficulty with rapid progression to pneumonia. [1],[2],[3] However, atypical presentations can be seen. An interesting atypical presentation is renal failure, which can be a cause of fatality. [4] Also, there are other less mentioned atypical presentations, including diarrhea. Here, the authors try to summarize the magnitude of diarrhea in the patients with MERS. According to the available published data, [5],[6] 13 out of 49 confirmed cases of MERS presented diarrhea, giving the prevalence equal to 4.35%. This rate is considered to be high in comparison to the rate in other new emerging respiratory viral infections (such as in bird flu). [7] Hence, MERS should also be included in the differential diagnosis of any acute febrile illness with diarrhea.
References | |  |
1. | Al-Tawfiq JA. Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus infection: An overview. J Infect Public Health 2013;6:319-22. |
2. | Geng H, Tan W. A novel human coronavirus: Middle East respiratory syndrome human coronavirus. Sci China Life Sci 2013;56:683-7. |
3. | Wiwanitkit V. Novel Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. J Formos Med Assoc 2014;113:65. |
4. | Joob B, Wiwanitkit V. Novel Middle East respiratory syndrome and renal failure. Ren Fail 2014;36:147. |
5. | Assiri A, Al-Tawfiq JA, Al-Rabeeah AA, Al-Rabiah FA, Al-Hajjar S, Al-Barrak A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: A descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis 2013;13:752-61. |
6. | Guery B, Poissy J, el Mansouf L, Séjourné C, Ettahar N, Lemaire X, et al.; MERS-CoV Study Group. Clinical features and viral diagnosis of two cases of infection with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus: A report of nosocomial transmission. Lancet 2013;381:2265-72. |
7. | Wiwanitkit V. Diarrhoea as a presentation of bird flu infection: A summary on its correlation to outcome in Thai cases. Gut 2005;54:1506.  [ PUBMED] |

Correspondence Address: Dr. Sora Yasri KMT Primary Health Care Center, Bangkok, Thailand
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1755-6783.154828

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