| MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus particle envelope proteins immunolabeled with rabbit HCoV-EMC/2012 primary antibody and goat anti-rabbit 10 nm gold particles. | |
Virus classification 
| |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| Realm: | Riboviria |
| Kingdom: | Orthornavirae |
| Phylum: | Pisuviricota |
| Class: | Pisoniviricetes |
| Order: | Nidovirales |
| Family: | Coronaviridae |
| Genus: | Betacoronavirus |
| Subgenus: | Merbecovirus |
| Species: | |
| Strain: | MERS coronavirus EMC/2012
|
| Synonyms | |
| |
MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 (MERS coronavirus Erasmus Medical Center/2012) is a strain of coronavirus isolated from the sputum of the first person to become infected with what was later named Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).[1][2][3][4]
An investigation of bat roosts in Bisha, the hometown of the index patient, by the Saudi Ministry of Health discovered an Egyptian tomb bat in a large roost close to the index patient's home. Phylogenetic analysis showed a 100% match between the virus isolated from the bat and MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 isolated from the index patient.[5]
MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 is the sixth coronavirus known to infect humans and the first human virus within betacoronavirus lineage C. It is a new genotype which is related to bat coronaviruses, specifically an Egyptian tomb bat, and is not the same beta-CoV as the SARS-CoV, but is distantly related.[3][6]
