Emerging Infectious Diseases (Nov 2013)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Bats, Saudi Arabia

  • Ziad A. Memish,
  • Nischay Mishra,
  • Kevin J. Olival,
  • Shamsudeen F. Fagbo,
  • Vishal Kapoor,
  • Jonathan H. Epstein,
  • Rafat AlHakeem,
  • Abdulkareem Durosinloun,
  • Mushabab Al Asmari,
  • Ariful Islam,
  • Amit Kapoor,
  • Thomas Briese,
  • Peter Daszak,
  • Abdullah A. Al Rabeeah,
  • W. Ian Lipkin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1911.131172
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 11
pp. 1819 – 1823

Abstract

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The source of human infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus remains unknown. Molecular investigation indicated that bats in Saudi Arabia are infected with several alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses. Virus from 1 bat showed 100% nucleotide identity to virus from the human index case-patient. Bats might play a role in human infection.

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