Phylogenetic Analysis of MERS-CoV in a Camel Abattoir, Saudi Arabia, 2016–2018

Abstract

We detected Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) RNA in 305/1,131 (27%) camels tested at an abattoir in Al Hasa, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, during January 2016–March 2018. We characterized 48 full-length MERS-CoV genomes and noted the viruses clustered in MERS-CoV lineage 5 clade B.

Keywords

• MERS
• coronavirus
• dromedary
• camels
• Saudi Arabia
• phylogeny