中东呼吸综合征是由一种新型冠状病毒(MERS-CoV)引起的病毒性呼吸道疾病，该病毒于2012年在沙特阿拉伯首次被发现。冠状病毒是一组能够导致人类和动物发病的病毒，常能引发人类从普通感冒到严重急性呼吸综合征(SARS)的多种疾病。
The number of people who had been in close contact with the first patient in China with Middle East respiratory (呼吸道) syndrome rose to 77 in Guangdong, the provincial Health and Family Planning Commission said on Sunday. Among them, 64 have been quarantined while 13 others, including 11 passengers on a bus to Huizhou boarded by the man, have remained out of contact.
The condition of the first patient, a 44-year-old South Korean man, aggravates, but he is conscious, his vital signs are stable, and his heart rate and blood pressure normal. He flew from Seoul to Hong Kong on Tuesday, a day after his father was diagnosed with MERS, and traveled to Huizhou by bus on the same day, ignoring instructions from doctors to stay home.
MERS is a respiratory tract illness caused by the MERS coronavirus (冠状病毒). The first known human case was confirmed in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and since then 1,142 cases in 23 countries had been reported up until May 16. There is no vaccine (疫苗) or treatment for the illness.
马上学：中东呼吸综合征(MERS)全称即为Middle East respiratory syndrome。英语中表达“疑似病例”可用suspected case、“确诊病例”则是diagnosed case。“隔离”英文可以说quarantine，例如：The ship is still in rigorous quarantine.(该船仍在接受严格的隔离检疫。)
