COVID-19, MERS and SARS: Global Status

What did the global infectious-disease picture look like in the early months of 2020? Stephen Berger’s COVID-19, MERS and SARS: Global Status records that moment in a GIDEON reference focused on the epidemiology and clinical features of three coronavirus diseases.

Arranged by disease, the book combines descriptive epidemiology with country-focused information, clinical summaries, references, and discussion of potential bioterrorism use. Its perspective is historical: the edition was last updated on March 22, 2020, so it should not be used as current medical guidance.

Three diseases, one epidemiological lens

The book gives separate attention to COVID-19, MERS coronavirus infection, and SARS. Rather than treating the subject as a single outbreak narrative, it presents disease information in a reference format, placing clinical descriptions alongside questions of transmission, distribution, and reported occurrence.

How the reference is organized

GIDEON’s disease entries follow a consistent structure. Readers will find descriptive epidemiology, summaries of clinical features, discussion of potential bioterrorism use, and references. The introductory material explains terms used in epidemiological descriptions and outlines the series’ country-by-country approach.

A record of an early pandemic moment

Because this is a 2020 edition, its value today is as a dated record of how infectious-disease information was assembled and presented at that time. It can support historical, bibliographic, or academic interest in early COVID-19 reporting and in the comparative study of COVID-19, MERS, and SARS—not decisions about diagnosis or treatment.

For readers tracing infectious-disease literature

This ebook may suit students, researchers, and readers interested in epidemiology or the history of the COVID-19 pandemic who need a clearly structured snapshot of the evidence and reporting available in March 2020. Its references and disease-entry format make it especially relevant to readers examining how global infectious-disease information was organized.