Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Virus, Environmental Research Division, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt.
Center of excellence in Bionanoscience Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80203, Saudi Arabia.
Viruses. 2019 Aug 5;11(8):717. doi: 10.3390/v11080717.
Dromedary camels are the natural reservoirs of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Camels are mostly bred in East African countries then exported into Africa and Middle East for consumption. To understand the distribution of MERS-CoV among camels in North Africa and the Middle East, we conducted surveillance in Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. We also performed longitudinal studies of three camel herds in Egypt and Jordan to elucidate MERS-CoV infection and transmission. Between 2016 and 2018, a total of 4027 nasal swabs and 3267 serum samples were collected from all countries. Real- time PCR revealed that MERS-CoV RNA was detected in nasal swab samples from Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. Microneutralization assay showed that antibodies were detected in all countries. Positive PCR samples were partially sequenced, and a phylogenetic tree was built. The tree suggested that all sequences are of clade C and sequences from camels in Egypt formed a separate group from previously published sequences. Longitudinal studies showed high seroprevalence in adult camels. These results indicate the widespread distribution of the virus in camels. A systematic active surveillance and longitudinal studies for MERS-CoV are needed to understand the epidemiology of the disease and dynamics of viral infection.
单峰驼是中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）的天然宿主。骆驼主要在东非国家饲养，然后出口到非洲和中东地区供人食用。为了了解 MERS-CoV 在北非和中东地区骆驼中的分布情况，我们在埃及、塞内加尔、突尼斯、乌干达、约旦、沙特阿拉伯和伊拉克进行了监测。我们还对埃及和约旦的三个骆驼群进行了纵向研究，以阐明 MERS-CoV 的感染和传播情况。在 2016 年至 2018 年期间，从所有国家共采集了 4027 份鼻拭子和 3267 份血清样本。实时 PCR 显示，MERS-CoV RNA 存在于埃及、塞内加尔、突尼斯和沙特阿拉伯的鼻拭子样本中。微量中和试验显示，所有国家均检测到抗体。对阳性 PCR 样本进行了部分测序，并构建了系统发育树。该树表明，所有序列均属于 C 群，埃及骆驼的序列与之前发表的序列形成了一个独立的分支。纵向研究表明，成年骆驼的血清阳性率很高。这些结果表明该病毒在骆驼中广泛传播。需要对 MERS-CoV 进行系统的主动监测和纵向研究，以了解该疾病的流行病学和病毒感染的动态。
