Special Infectious Agents Unit-BSL3, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 29;12(1):7005. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11208-6.
Camels gained attention since the discovery of MERS-CoV as intermediary hosts for potentially epidemic zoonotic viruses. DcHEV is a novel zoonotic pathogen associated with camel contact. This study aimed to genetically characterize DcHEV in domestic and imported camels in Saudi Arabia. DcHEV was detected by RT-PCR in serum samples, PCR-positive samples were subjected to sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. DcHEV was detected in 1.77% of samples with higher positivity in domestic DCs. All positive imported dromedaries were from Sudan with age declining prevalence. Domestic DcHEV sequences clustered with sequences from Kenya, Somalia, and UAE while imported sequences clustered with one DcHEV isolate from UAE and both sequences clustered away from isolates reported from Pakistan. Full-genome sequences showed 24 amino acid difference with reference sequences. Our results confirm the detection of DcHEV in domestic and imported DCs. Further investigations are needed in human and camel populations to identify DcHEV potential zoonosis threat.
骆驼由于被发现是可能引发流行的人畜共患病病毒的中间宿主而受到关注。DcHEV 是一种与骆驼接触有关的新型人畜共患病病原体。本研究旨在对沙特阿拉伯的本地和进口骆驼中的 DcHEV 进行基因特征分析。通过 RT-PCR 在血清样本中检测到 DcHEV，对 PCR 阳性样本进行测序和系统发育分析。DcHEV 在 1.77%的样本中被检出，在本地骆驼中阳性率更高。所有阳性的进口单峰驼均来自苏丹，随着年龄的增长，阳性率呈下降趋势。本地骆驼的 DcHEV 序列与来自肯尼亚、索马里和阿联酋的序列聚类，而进口的序列与来自阿联酋的一个 DcHEV 分离株聚类，且两者都与来自巴基斯坦的分离株聚类不同。全基因组序列与参考序列有 24 个氨基酸差异。我们的研究结果证实了本地和进口的 DC 中存在 DcHEV。需要在人群和骆驼中进行进一步调查，以确定 DcHEV 潜在的人畜共患病威胁。
