Infection Ecology & Epidemiology (Jul 2015)

High proportion of MERS-CoV shedding dromedaries at slaughterhouse with a potential epidemiological link to human cases, Qatar 2014

  • Elmoubasher A. B. A. Farag,
  • Chantal B. E. M. Reusken,
  • Bart L. Haagmans,
  • Khaled A. Mohran,
  • V. Stalin Raj,
  • Suzan D. Pas,
  • Jolanda Voermans,
  • Saskia L. Smits,
  • Gert-Jan Godeke,
  • Mohd. M. Al-Hajri,
  • Farhoud H. Alhajri,
  • Hamad E. Al-Romaihi,
  • Hazem Ghobashy,
  • Mamdouh M. El-Maghraby,
  • Ahmed M. El-Sayed,
  • Mohamed H. J. Al Thani,
  • Salih Al-Marri,
  • Marion P. G. Koopmans

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3402/iee.v5.28305
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 0
pp. 1 – 4

Abstract

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Two of the earliest Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) cases were men who had visited the Doha central animal market and adjoining slaughterhouse in Qatar. We show that a high proportion of camels presenting for slaughter in Qatar show evidence for nasal MERS-CoV shedding (62/105). Sequence analysis showed the circulation of at least five different virus strains at these premises, suggesting that this location is a driver of MERS-CoV circulation and a high-risk area for human exposure. No correlation between RNA loads and levels of neutralizing antibodies was observed, suggesting limited immune protection and potential for reinfection despite previous exposure.

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