CONTEXTUALIZING
Written by Victoria Comunale Illustrated by Megan Zou August 19, 2020
WITH THE
COVID-19 SARS AND MERS OUTBREAKS When we grapple with the uncertainties of new experiences, we can often find comfort and familiarity by reflecting on the past. Although COVID-19 has brought a great deal of change to all of our lives, a global health scare caused by a coronavirus is something that we have dealt with before—granted, on a much smaller scale. Despite the seemingly endless news of skyrocketing case numbers and the novel challenges of rapid vaccine development, we are gradually piecing together an understanding of COVID-19. This knowledge of COVID-19 is in part formed by reflecting on similar diseases from the past: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
It has become obvious that many nations were far underprepared for the pandemic that we are currently facing. There are at present over ten million cases worldwide which have resulted in over 600,000 deaths, and the numbers only keep climbing [3]. But unlike previous epidemics and pandemics, we are equipped with today’s advanced knowledge and technology. Not only do we have experience from dealing with previous coronaviruses, but technological progress over the past decade has also put us at an advantageous position with which to control the spread of the virus. For example, while it took months for the SARS genome to be sequenced, it took a matter of weeks for the COVID-19 genome [4].
MERS, SARS, and COVID-19 are all respiratory diseases that have been at the center of public health crises. The underlying viruses that cause these diseases are all coronaviruses, which are a large subset of viruses that affect animals such as bats, camels, and cats and can evolve to infect humans [1]. The specific coronaviruses known to cause disease in humans are MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARSCoV-2, which cause MERS, SARS, and COVID-19, respectively [2]. Interestingly, the viruses that cause SARS and COVID-19 are so similar that the virus responsible for COVID-19 was named the second of its kind, SARS-CoV-2. Although SARS and MERS did not globally agitate societal norms and activities in the way that COVID-19 has, we can ground our perception of COVID-19 in our prior encounters with these viruses. So how does our situation compare to those of the past, and how can our experiences with previous coronaviruses help us today?
While SARS and MERS are both respiratory illnesses caused by coronaviruses, nothing of this magnitude was experienced during those past outbreaks. SARS resulted in over 8,000 cases and 774 deaths mostly between the years 2003 and 2004 [5]. MERS resulted in 2,519 cases and 866 deaths mostly between the years 2012 and 2013, and about 80 percent of cases were localized in Saudi Arabia [5]. During these outbreaks, all non-essential travel was advised against, yet there were no widespread efforts put in place, such as mask-wearing and social distancing, to stop the spread of these viruses.
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Although there were far fewer cases of SARS and MERS than of COVID-19, these diseases had higher mortality rates, with MERS having the highest: about one-third of cases resulted in deaths [5]. Like COVID-19, these previous viruses proved to be more fatal for the elderly: one study has found that SARS had a fatality rate of more than 50 percent for people 65 or older [6].
