News in Brief Life On the trail of a new virus Map of MERS infection finds microbe spread through hospital dialysis units By Tina Hesman Saey June 19, 2013 at 5:01 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print A new, deadly respiratory virus spreads easily in hospital settings, a team of investigators has found. The virus, called the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, reminds Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist Trish Perl of SARS.