MERS-CoV was first recognized in 2012 as the cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in humans and by the end of April 2021, a total of 2574 laboratory-confirmed cases and 886 associated deaths (case-fatality ratio 34.4%) were reported globally. On the other hand, the current COVID-19 pandemic has already caused almost 170 million cases and 3.5 million deaths worldwide.
