Acute Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection in Livestock Dromedaries, Dubai, 2014

摘要

M iddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes outbreaks and isolated cas- es of severe respiratory disease in humans. The virus is transmissible from human to human, but the focus of in- fection has remained in countries on the Arabian Peninsu- la. Recent reports have shown that dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius) across the Arabian Peninsula and parts of eastern and northern Africa have MERS-CoV antibodies (1–4 ). Virus detection by reverse transcription PCR (RT- PCR) and sequencing has confirmed that these antibodies are likely to be caused by infection with the same virus strains that infect humans (5). In singular cases, strong evidence for virus transmission between camels and hu- mans was found (6,7). Infection of dromedaries in the laboratory has confirmed susceptibility and efficient shed- ding (8). MERS-CoV antibodies were not found in other species of livestock and leisure animals, including cattle, goats, sheep, and horses (9).