On 13 November 2012, the Health Protection Agency published the whole genome sequence data from the second case of respiratory disease associated with a novel coronavirus who was hospitalised in England.

 
The WHO has recently updated a number of its interim guidance documents for the novel coronavirus including clinical management (11th February) and the case definition for reporting (19th February);

An article published on 21 June in the New England Journal of Medicine describes a healthcare associated outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection in the Al-Ahsa region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

​A study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases on 9 August 2013 by Reusken et al identified antibodies to MERS-CoV in camels both in Oman and Spain.  A total of 50 out of 50 (100%) sera sampled from Omani camels and 15 of 105 (14%) of sera from camels from Spain had antibodies against MERS-CoV. Sera from European and Chilean sheep, goats, cattle and other camelids had no such antibodies. 

The authors conclude that bats might play a role in human infection although this does not exclude the possibility of other hosts.

No neutralising or cross-reacting antibodies were found in the sampled human population.

The current nosocomial outbreaks, of MERS, in Riyadh and Amman are the latest reminder of the need for healthcare systems to be prepared.

​Since the last ECDC update on 17 June 2013, 13 new confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and two deaths have been reported by the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia.

​​By 22 November 2013, 160 cases of MERS have been reported. All cases have either occurred in the Middle East or have direct links to a primary case infected in the Middle East.