Project description:On September 20, 2012, a Saudi Arabian physician reported the isolation of a novel coronavirus from a patient with pneumonia on ProMED-mail. Within a few days, the same virus was detected in a Qatari patient receiving intensive care in a London hospital, a situation reminiscent of the role air travel played in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002. SARS-CoV originated in China's Guangdong Province and affected more than 8000 patients in 26 countries before it was contained 6 months later. Over a year after the emergence of this novel coronavirus--Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)--it has caused 178 laboratory-confirmed cases and 76 deaths. The emergence of a second highly pathogenic coronavirus within a decade highlights the importance of a coordinated global response incorporating reservoir surveillance, high-containment capacity with fundamental and applied research programs, and dependable communication pathways to ensure outbreak containment. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the epidemiology, ecology, molecular biology, clinical features, and intervention strategies of the novel coronavirus, MERS-CoV.
Project description:The absence of a robust disease model currently hinders the evaluation of countermeasures for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). While a rhesus macaque model of MERS-CoV that results in mild-to-moderate disease has been utilized to describe the pathogenesis of this virus and for the evaluation of therapeutics, the inability to produce uniform disease with substantial virus replication complicates analysis in countermeasure studies. In an attempt to identify a more robust disease model, DPP4 sequences of various non-human primates were aligned. Modeling of the interactions between the receptor binding domain of MERS-CoV and its cognate receptor DPP4 predicted a "good fit" with complete conservation of all of the critical residues. To determine the feasibility of the marmoset as a MERS-CoV disease model, common marmosets were inoculated with MERS-CoV via combined intratracheal, intranasal, oral and ocular routes. Marmosets developed signs of moderate to severe illness with progressive serious to severe pneumonia. Progressive gross lesions were evident in animals necropsied at 3, 4 and 6 days post inoculation and two animals were euthanized during the study due to disease severity. This is the first description of a moderate-to-severe, with potentially lethality, disease model of MERS-CoV and as such will have utility for vaccine and other countermeasure efficacy evaluations in addition to further pathogenesis studies. Lung tissue samples were isolated and sequenced at 3, 4 and 6 days post inoculation. Two animals were euthanized during the study due to disease severity.
Project description:Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection causes a spectrum of respiratory illness, from asymptomatic to mild to fatal. MERS-CoV is transmitted sporadically from dromedary camels to humans and occasionally through human-to-human contact. Current epidemiologic evidence supports a major role in transmission for direct contact with live camels or humans with symptomatic MERS, but little evidence suggests the possibility of transmission from camel products or asymptomatic MERS cases. Because a proportion of case-patients do not report direct contact with camels or with persons who have symptomatic MERS, further research is needed to conclusively determine additional mechanisms of transmission, to inform public health practice, and to refine current precautionary recommendations.