Understanding the immune response to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is crucial for disease prevention and vaccine development. We studied the antibody responses in 48 human MERS-CoV infection survivors who had variable disease severity in Saudi Arabia. MERS-CoV-specific neutralizing antibodies were detected for 6 years postinfection.
Keywords: MERS; MERS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Saudi Arabia; antibody responses; coronaviruses; disease severity; humans; longevity; patients; viruses; zoonoses.