Colorized transmission electron micrograph showing particles of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus that emerged in 2012. The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is positive-sense, single-stranded RNA novel species of the genus Betacoronavirus. First called novel coronavirus 2012 or simply novel coronavirus, it was first reported in 2012 after genome sequencing of a virus isolated from sputum samples from patients who fell ill in a 2012 outbreak of a new flu. As of May 14, 2014, MERS-CoV cases have been reported in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Kuwait, Oman, the Philippines (still MERS-free), Indonesia (none was confirmed), the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list MERS as transmissible from human-to-human.