Editorial: MERS-CoV — are we on the verge of a pandemic?

Coronaviruses are single stranded RNA viruses found throughout the world. The six well-known human coronaviruses are 229E, OC43, NL63, HKU1, SARS-CoV1,2 and the most recently discovered Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Coronaviruses, commonly associated with colds and upper respiratory tract infections, are also known to cause pneumonia in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.