MERS-coronavirus in dromedary camels

Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), first identified in the fall of 2012 in a Saudi Arabian patient, has since infected over 180 individuals, causing 77 deaths. Antibodies to the virus and the viral genome have been found in dromedary camels in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, implicating those animals as the source of human infections. A new study reveals that the virus has infected camels throughout Saudi Arabia since at least 1992. Serum, blood, and rectal and nasal swabs were collected from dromedary camels in November-December 2013 from southwestern, western, northwestern, eastern, and central regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Of 203 serum samples, 150 (74%) were found to contain antibodies to MERS-CoV. The number of seropositive animals varied from 5% to 95% depending on location and the age of the animals (in general, seropositivity was higher in adult camels compared with young camels). Antibodies against MERS-CoV were also detected in archived serum samples from 1992 through 2010. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect viral nucleic acids in clinical specimens from camels. Viral nucleic acid was most frequently detected in nasal  swabs; only three rectal samples were positive. More samples from juvenile camels contained viral nucleic acids (36/104, 35%) than from adults (15/98, 15%). No viral nucleic acids were detected in the blood of these animals. Phylogenetic analysis of approximately 3 kb of viral nucleic acid sequence revealed ...
Source: virology blog - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Basic virology Information dromedary camel Kingdom of Saudi Arabia MERS coronavirus Middle East respiratory syndrome viral Source Type: blogs