ECDC on MERS and a novel cyclovirus

ECDC has published a new Communicable Disease Threats Report for week 25. The summary:

The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report is a weekly bulletin intended for epidemiologists and health professionals in the area of communicable disease prevention and control. This week’s report includes an update on the ongoing outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It also provides information on a new novel cyclovirus. 

MERS-CoV 

Six new cases of the novel Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus were reported in Saudi Arabia between 13 and 20 June 2013. The reservoir for the novel coronavirus has not yet been established and it remains unclear how transmission has occurred from one sporadic case to another. 

Novel cyclovirus 

The identification of a new novel cyclovirus, named CyCV-VN, was described in an mBio article published on 18 June 2013. The disease was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of two Vietnamese patients with central nervous system infections of unknown etiology. Further tests revealed wider detection of the CyCV-VN, including in fecal samples from healthy children. Tests conducted on pigs and poultry confirmed the presence of the virus. This is the first time that the virus has been associated with human infection. Further study is needed in order to establish a causal relationship.