In 2015, a virus called the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) spread from Saudi Arabia to South Korea. By early June, it had infected over 1,333 people, resulting in at least 471 deaths.
This is not the first time the world has seen a dangerous new disease. In 2002, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) appeared, spreading throughout Asia and beyond. Like MERS, SARS was a coronavirus, the same kind that causes the common cold. By the time SARS fizzled out, it had
killed over 774 people.
The sudden appearance of new and dangerous diseases is a big threat. In the past, diseases could only spread as far as humans could take them. An outbreak might affect a city or region, but it wouldn’t spread further because travel was so slow. Nowadays the situation is different. A person infected with MERS can fly to the other side of the world in ten hours. If he or she infects someone else on the plane, that person might fly somewhere else. In mere days we could have a global pandemic on our hands.
Luckily there is a global organization fighting this global threat. The
United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is always first on the scene when a new disease appears. It acts as a command center, sending doctors, testing patients, and issuing travel warnings if necessary. Whether it's SARS, MERS, or whatever comes next, the WHO has the tools to beat the diseases of the 21st century.
2015年，一種名為「中東呼吸症候群」（MERS）的病毒，由沙烏地阿拉伯擴散到南韓，截至6月上旬，已有1333名民眾受到感染，造成至少471例死亡。
這並非全球首次遭遇新型態的危險疾病，2002 年爆發了「嚴重急性呼吸系統綜合症」（SARS），疫情延燒全亞洲及其他地區。SARS和MERS一樣，是由冠狀病毒所引致，冠狀病毒也是引起普通感冒的病毒。俟SARS疫情平息，死亡人數已達774例。
突如其來的新型危險疾病是一大威脅，過去疾病的傳播僅侷限於人類足跡可及的範圍，疫情爆發可能會影響一個城市或地區，但由於交通不便，不會擴大傳染的空間。如今時移勢遷，MERS患者可於十小時內飛抵世界彼端，如果在飛機上傳染給他人，這人又繼續飛往他處，那麼僅數天內就會出現全球的大流行需控制。
幸好我們有全球性的組織來對抗全球性的威脅。每當新型態疾病出現，世界衛生組織（WHO）總會站在第一線把關。世衛組織就如同防疫指揮中心，派遣醫師、檢驗病患、必要時發布旅遊警示。不論是SARS、MERS 或未來其他危機，世衛組織都有辦法戰勝二十一世紀的各種病症。
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