MERS-CoV Airborne: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Detected in Saudi Camel Barn

[tetano]

Saudi Arabian researchers have detected genetic fragments of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the air of a barn holding a camel infected with the virus. The work, published this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, indicates that further studies are needed to see if the disease can be transmitted through the air.

MERS, a serious viral respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, has been identified in 699 people as of June 11, according to the World Health Organization; 209 people have died from the condition. An additional 113 cases occurring between 2012 and 2014 were reported by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health on June 3.

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http://www.news-medical.net/news/20...nts-of-MERS-CoV-in-the-air-of-camel-barn.aspx

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

MERS-CoV Airborne: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Detected in Saudi Camel Barn

MERS-CoV Airborne: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Detected in Saudi Camel Barn

Lydia Smith By Lydia Smith

July 22, 2014

Saudi Arabian researchers have detected genetic fragments of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus [MERS-Cov] in the air of a barn holding infected camels.

The discovery indicates that further studies are needed to see whether the disease can be transmitted through the air.

MERS-CoV, which causes MERS, a serious respiratory virus, was first reported in 2012. According to the World Health Organisation, 209 people have died from the condition, with an additional 113 cases reported between 2012 and 2014 by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health.

For the study, researchers collected air samples on three consecutive days last November from a camel barn owned by a 43-year-old man, who lived south of the town of Jeddah.

Four of the camels had shown signs of the MERS virus, and they had subsequently infected the man, who later died.

More: International Business Times

 

[tetano]

Re: MERS-CoV Airborne: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Detected in Saudi Camel Barn

doi: 10.1128/mBio.01450-14 22 July 2014 mBio vol. 5 no. 4 e01450-14


Detection of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Genome in an Air Sample Originating from a Camel Barn Owned by an Infected Patient

Esam I. Azhara,b,
Anwar M. Hashema,c,
Sherif A. El-Kafrawya,
Sayed Sartaj Sohraba,
Asad S. Aburizaizad,
Suha A. Farraja,
Ahmed M. Hassana,
Muneera S. Al-Saeeda,
Ghazi A. Jamjooma,
Tariq A. Madanie,f

aSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
bDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
cDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
dEnvironmental Science Department, Faculty of Metrology, Environmental Science & Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
eDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
fScientific Chair of Mohammad Hussein Alamoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Address correspondence to Esam I. Azhar, eazhar{at}kau.edu.sa.

Editor Michael Katze, University of Washington

ABSTRACT

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel betacoronavirus that has been circulating in the Arabian Peninsula since 2012 and causing severe respiratory infections in humans. While bats were suggested to be involved in human MERS-CoV infections, a direct link between bats and MERS-CoV is uncertain. On the other hand, serological and virological data suggest dromedary camels as the potential animal reservoirs of MERS-CoV. Recently, we isolated MERS-CoV from a camel and its infected owner and provided evidence for the direct transmission of MERS-CoV from the infected camel to the patient. Here, we extend this work and show that identical MERS-CoV RNA fragments were detected in an air sample collected from the same barn that sheltered the infected camel in our previous study. These data indicate that the virus was circulating in this farm concurrently with its detection in the camel and in the patient, which warrants further investigations for the possible airborne transmission of MERS-CoV.

IMPORTANCE This work clearly highlights the importance of continuous surveillance and infection control measures to control the global public threat of MERS-CoV. While current MERS-CoV transmission appears to be limited, we advise minimal contact with camels, especially for immunocompromised individuals, and the use of appropriate health, safety, and infection prevention and control measures when dealing with infected patients. Also, detailed clinical histories of any MERS-CoV cases with epidemiological and laboratory investigations carried out for any animal exposure must be considered to identify any animal source.
Footnotes

Citation Azhar EI, Hashem AM, El-Kafrawy SA, Sohrab SS, Aburizaiza AS, Farraj SA, Hassan AM, Al-Saeed MS, Jamjoom GA, Madani TA. 2014. Detection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus genome in an air sample originating from a camel barn owned by an infected patient. mBio 5(4):e01450-14. doi:10.1128/mBio.01450-14.

Received 10 June 2014
Accepted 27 June 2014
Published 22 July 2014


http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/4/e01450-14

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: MERS-CoV Airborne: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Detected in Saudi Camel Barn

Expert voices caution

A virologist who was not involved in the study, Marion Koopmans, DVM, PhD, voiced a cautious view of the findings. She is head of virology at the Laboratory for Infectious Diseases of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands.

"While potentially interesting, I find this data rather preliminary as this whole paper leans on the single finding of one positive air sample," she told CIDRAP News. "I have a hard time combining that with the animal data: The viral loads in the nose of the one positive camel in the herd sampled at the same time were lower than that of the air sample.

"From our own experience, I can say that you lose significant amounts of virus when doing air sample testing, so to me the data does not add up if you want to explain the air results from the animal presence. The owner at the time of sampling already was hospitalized, so he is not the source. So to me, this is rather preliminary."

More: CIDRAP - Study: Pieces of MERS-CoV found in air of camel barn