WIKIMEDIA, IRENE2005Camels shed large quantities of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus, making them a likely suspect for spreading the deadly pathogen to humans, according to researchers at Colorado State University (CSU). Scientists had suspected that camels, which are commonly kept as pets and modes of transportation throughout the Middle East, were playing a role in the MERS outbreak that has sickened more than 900 people and killed more than 300 since being detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
“This is a necessary step in looking at the interaction between the virus and the host species, the camel,” Mark Pallansch, director of the Division of Viral Diseases in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a statement. “We don’t have an effective intervention for stopping the spread of the virus other than standard hygiene precautions and avoiding contact with infected individuals. This does provide a possible intervention to keep the host from infecting humans.”
The study, which will be published in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, tracked three dromedary camels infected with the MERS virus. The animals fell ill, expelled high levels of the pathogen through their noses, and recovered in about a ...
