Serologic Evidence of MERS-CoV Infection in Dromedaries in Africa

Dromedaries across wide areas of Africa have antibodies to MERS-CoV or a related virus; antibody positivity is correlated with the density of camel populations.

Recent studies provide virologic and serologic evidence that the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been circulating among dromedary camels (NEJM JW Infect Dis Apr 25 2014). Many camels in the Arabian Peninsula come from Africa. In two recent studies, researchers assessed whether the animals might be infected before reaching the Middle East.

Corman and colleagues tested samples collected between 1992 and 2013 from dromedaries in three regions in Kenya. Among 774 serum samples tested for MERS-CoV antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 30% were positive. Antibody specificity was confirmed in nearly 60% of the ELISA-positive samples using a specific MERS-CoV microneutralization assay. Antibody po…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Serologic Evidence of MERS-CoV Infection in Dromedaries in Africa

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Reviewing Author