Be aware of MERS

Schoolchildren wash their hands during an activity for the upcoming Global Handwashing Day in Lima October 12, 2009. October 15 has been appointed to become Global Handwashing Day in accordance with the year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation by the UN. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo (PERU SOCIETY)

The MERS-CoV is different from the virus that caused the worldwide outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, but they share some similarities.

OVER 400 people have been confirmed infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) since April 2012, and more than 100 have died from it.