New Corona Virus May Have Arrived in Camels From the Horn of Africa - or not.....

[Gert van der Hoek]

In virus hunt, Saudi Arabia suspects African camel imports

BY KATE KELLAND

LONDON Fri Jun 27, 2014

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia suspects a virus that has killed hundreds of people there may have arrived in camels from the Horn of Africa, and could ban such imports until it knows more, the kingdom's chief scientist told Reuters.

Any ban on the camel trade with the region would badly hurt the already fragile economy of Somalia, which is a major livestock exporter to Saudi Arabia.

Tariq Madani, who heads the scientific advisory board of the Saudi health ministry command and control center (CCC) - set up to handle the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS - said scientists are currently testing camels at sea ports before authorities allow them in.

More: Reuters

See also: Looking at Camels and MERS-CoV - by Ian M MacKay, PhD

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[Shiloh]

Saudi Arabia: Camel imports face scrutiny

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/news/593466

MERS battle: Camel imports face scrutiny
REUTERS
Published ? Saturday 28 June 2014
Last update 28 June 2014 3:51 pm

JEDDAH: Saudi authorities suspect that the MERS virus may have arrived in camels from the Horn of Africa, and could ban such imports until it knows more, says Tariq Madani, who heads the scientific advisory board of the Health Ministry?s command and control center (CCC).

Any ban on the camel trade with the region would badly hurt the economy of Somalia, which is a major livestock exporter to Saudi Arabia.

Madani said scientists are currently testing camels at sea ports before authorities allow them in.

?We do have suspicions that the disease may have been imported through camel trade from the Horn of Africa, but we haven?t proved it yet,? Madani said...

[sharon sanders]

Re: New Corona Virus May Have Arrived in Camels From the Horn of Africa

machine translation


Commenting on what the health consultant suspicions of being infected with the virus

Ebel Djibouti confirms the absence of the Horn of Africa ?Corona?


Mohammed Aoun from Riyadh

Ruled Ambassador Ziauddin Bamajrma Djibouti Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, injury Ebel Horn of Africa exporting to Saudi Arabia virus "Corona", comment on what was said by Dr. Tariq Madani medical advisor for the Saudi Ministry of Health, told "Reuters" that Saudi Arabia suspect the virus Coruna perhaps his Ebel From the Horn of Africa and that it may prevent these imports to clear it further.

Ambassador of Djibouti for "economic" The quarantine regional livestock in Djibouti, is responsible for the export of livestock Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been discovered in the quarry of any cases of infection with "Corona," noting that Djibouti has not recorded any case of the virus among humans or animals.

The Ambassador Bamajrma that quarantine regional pass by livestock Horn of Africa, and receives annually more than one million head of cattle, and are subject to veterinary inspection health specialist at the highest level in Djibouti, and fled to importers of cattle necessary guarantees for cattle control health accurately and under the auspices of the Ministries of Agriculture Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, subject to the standards of the International Organization for Animal Health, pointing out that this quarry contributed significantly to lift the ban on livestock Horn of Africa since its inception in 2008.

more...

http://www.aleqt.com/2014/06/29/article_862340.html

[Shiloh]

Re: New Corona Virus May Have Arrived in Camels From the Horn of Africa - or not.....

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/saudi...ia-556627.html


Saudi camel ban would hurt economy, says Somalia
By Reuters
Thursday, 3 July 2014 1:53 PM

Somalia said on Thursday its economy would suffer if Saudi Arabia banned camel imports from the Horn of Africa nation over suspicions the animals could carry a potentially deadly virus and said it was ready to help find what caused the illness.

The Somali prime minister's office also said in a statement to Reuters that there had been no reported case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS in Somalia since the virus was first discovered in humans in 2012...

...Most shipments are made before the Muslim holidays of Eid el-Fitr - at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan which began this week - and Eid al-Adha which follows a few weeks later. A ban now would hit a period when exports start climbing.