Dataset Information

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is proposed to be a zoonotic disease; however, the reservoir and mechanism for transmission of the causative agent, the MERS coronavirus, are unknown. Dromedary camels have been implicated through reports that some victims have been exposed to camels, camels in areas where the disease has emerged have antibodies to the virus, and viral sequences have been recovered from camels in association with outbreaks of the disease among humans. Nonetheless, whether camels mediate transmission to humans is unresolved. Here we provide evidence from a geographic and temporal survey of camels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that MERS coronaviruses have been circulating in camels since at least 1992, are distributed countrywide, and can be phylogenetically classified into clades that correlate with outbreaks of the disease among humans. We found no evidence of infection in domestic sheep or domestic goats. IMPORTANCE This study was undertaken to determine the historical and current prevalence of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infection in dromedary camels and other livestock in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the index case and the majority of cases of MERS have been reported.

SUBMITTER: Alagaili AN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3940034 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia.

Alagaili Abdulaziz N AN Briese Thomas T Mishra Nischay N Kapoor Vishal V Sameroff Stephen C SC Burbelo Peter D PD de Wit Emmie E Munster Vincent J VJ Hensley Lisa E LE Zalmout Iyad S IS Kapoor Amit A Epstein Jonathan H JH Karesh William B WB Daszak Peter P Mohammed Osama B OB Lipkin W Ian WI

mBio 20140225 2

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is proposed to be a zoonotic disease; however, the reservoir and mechanism for transmission of the causative agent, the MERS coronavirus, are unknown. Dromedary camels have been implicated through reports that some victims have been exposed to camels, camels in areas where the disease has emerged have antibodies to the virus, and viral sequences have been recovered from camels in association with outbreaks of the disease among humans. Nonetheless, whet ...[more]

PMID: 24570370

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Project description:Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging zoonotic disease. Exposure to dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) has been consistently considered the main source of primary human infection. Although Saudi Arabia reports the highest rate of human MERS-CoV infection and has one of the largest populations of dromedary camels worldwide, their spatial association has not yet been investigated. Thus, this study aimed to examine the correlation between the spatial distribution of primary MERS-CoV cases with or without a history of camel exposure reported between 2012 and 2019 and dromedary camels at the provincial level in Saudi Arabia. In most provinces, a high proportion of older men develop infections after exposure to camels. Primary human infections during spring and winter were highest in provinces characterized by seasonal breeding and calving, increased camel mobilization and camel-human interactions. A strong and significant association was found between the total number of dromedary camels and the numbers of primary camel-exposed and non-exposed MERS-CoV cases. Furthermore, spatial correlations between MERS-CoV cases and camel sex, age and dairy status were significant. Via a cluster analysis, we identified Riyadh, Makkah and Eastern provinces as having the most primary MERS-CoV cases and the highest number of camels. Transmission of MERS-CoV from camels to humans occurs in most primary cases, but there is still a high proportion of primary infections with an ambiguous link to camels. The results from this study include significant correlations between primary MERS-CoV cases and camel populations in all provinces, regardless of camel exposure history. This supports the hypothesis of the role of an asymptomatic human carrier or, less likely, an unknown animal host that has direct contact with both infected camels and humans. In this study, we performed a preliminary risk assessment of prioritization measures to control the transmission of infection from camels to humans.

Dataset Information

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia.

Publications

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia.

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