Dataset Information

Detection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camel's seminal plasma in Saudi Arabia 2015-2017.

ABSTRACT: The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emergent respiratory virus. Dromedary camels are currently the only known reservoir of MERS-CoV and are capable of transmitting the virus within a herd. The role of semen in the transmission of MERS-CoV has never been investigated as yet, to the best of our knowledge. Our goal was to test semen collected from dromedary camels for MERS-CoV. A total of 67 seminal plasma samples from infertile and 13 from fertile dromedary camels were collected. The RNA was extracted from the samples and tested using commercial real-time PCR. Nine out of sixty-seven infertile animals (13.4%) were positive. The obtained PCR products were sequenced using the conserved MERS-CoV-N gene primers. MERS-CoV-RNA detected in seminal plasma was closely related to the lineage B. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the detection of MERS-CoV-RNA in camel's seminal plasma. Regular testing of semen of common male camels' used for insemination should be considered to avoid a possible spread of the virus through semen.

SUBMITTER: Hemida MG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7267522 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Detection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camel's seminal plasma in Saudi Arabia 2015-2017.

Hemida Maged Gomaa MG Waheed Magdi M Ali Ali M AM Alnaeem Abdelmohsen A

Transboundary and emerging diseases 20200522 6

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emergent respiratory virus. Dromedary camels are currently the only known reservoir of MERS-CoV and are capable of transmitting the virus within a herd. The role of semen in the transmission of MERS-CoV has never been investigated as yet, to the best of our knowledge. Our goal was to test semen collected from dromedary camels for MERS-CoV. A total of 67 seminal plasma samples from infertile and 13 from fertile dromedary camels wer ...[more]

PMID: 32374945

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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

Detection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camel's seminal plasma in Saudi Arabia 2015-2017.

Publications

Detection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camel's seminal plasma in Saudi Arabia 2015-2017.

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