#13,770
Household clusters of MERS - while not as common as outbreaks in health care facilities - illustrate that in close quarters and under the right conditions, MERS transmits reasonably well between humans.
Last week, the Saudi MOH reported on an 80 y.o. female in Sajir City who was hospitalized with MERS and was apparently a secondary household contact of a 45 y.o. male (with camel contact) who was hospitalized in mid-December.Today the Saudi MOH is reporting another household cluster - this time in Riyadh City - involving a 56 year-old male (primary) and an 86 year-old male (secondary, household) infection, neither of which report recent camel contact.
While there are questions over just how well surveillance picks up community cases of MERS (see J. Korean Med Sci: Atypical Presentation Of A MERS Case In A Returning Traveler From Kuwait)- the good news is - so far we've seen no signs of any sustained or efficient transmission of the MERS virus outside of some healthcare facilities and and a few households.
The big unknown, of course, is that the MERS virus continues to evolve and adapt - and while it may not be equipped to spark a pandemic today - there are no guarantees that status will continue.
