ABSTRACT
This study aimed to measure the level of awareness of faculty members, staff and students in a female Saudi Arabian university community towards Middle East respiratory syndrome coronvirus [MERS-CoV] following an outbreak. A self-administered questionnaire containing knowledge questions was distributed and completed by the 1541 participants. The overall knowledge score was 43.2%. It was only significantly higher in participants from the health colleges [50.6%]. The majority [78.9%] of the respondents recognized the typical symptoms of MERS-CoV but only 67.1% knew the recommended preventive hygiene practices. Awareness of disease epidemiology, severity, fatality rate and treatment was very low. The knowledge of health care workers/students of the recommended precautions that should be applied when dealing with patients was poor [55.5%]. Significant improvement in educational programmes for both the health care and non-health care professionals is warranted, particularly in crowded educational institutions or workplaces