A longitudinal study of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels

A longitudinal study of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels

Abstract Background Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified in humans in 2012. Since then, 2605 cases and 937 associated deaths have been reported globally. Camels are the natural host for MERS-CoV and camel to human transmission has been documented. The relationship b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC veterinary research Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 1 - 228
Main Authors: Abdelazim, Mohamed, Abdelkader, Rehab, Ali, Abdelhakim, Shahein, Momtaz A, Tadesse, Zelalem, Saad, Ahmed, Mansour, Amal, Ali, Samah F, Atea, Mohamed, Gardner, Emma, VonDobschuetz, Sophie, Morzaria, Subhash, Makonnen, Yilma, Lubroth, Juan, Sumption, Keith, ElMasry, Ihab, Zakaria, Tarek, Eid, Samah, Hatab, Eman Abo, Hagag, Naglaa M, Yousef, Hend M. Y, Emara, Mervate, Abdelwahed, Dina A, Abdelmegeed, Hala K, Hamdy, Mervat E, Mansour, Othman N.O, Guitian, Javier
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 02-11-2023
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects:
Analysis
Antibodies
Camelidae
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses
Dromedary camel
Longitudinal studies
Longitudinal study
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
MERS-CoV
Middle East respiratory syndrome
Optical density
Respiratory diseases
Serology
Vaccines
Viral antibodies
Viruses
Zoonosis
Middle East
Egypt
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified in humans in 2012. Since then, 2605 cases and 937 associated deaths have been reported globally. Camels are the natural host for MERS-CoV and camel to human transmission has been documented. The relationship between MERS-CoV shedding and presence of neutralizing antibodies in camels is critical to inform surveillance and control, including future deployment of camel vaccines. However, it remains poorly understood. The longitudinal study conducted in a closed camel herd in Egypt between December 2019 and March 2020 helped to characterize the kinetics of MERS-CoV neutralizing antibodies and its relation with viral shedding. Results During the 100-day longitudinal study, 27 out of 54 camels (50%) consistently tested negative for presence of antibodies against MERS-CoV, 19 (35.2%) tested positive and 8 (14.8%) had both, positive and negative test results. Fourteen events that could be interpreted as serological indication of probable infection (two seroconversions and twelve instances of positive camels more than doubling their optical density ratio (OD ratio) in consecutive samples) were identified. Observed times between the identified events provided strong evidence (p = 0.002) against the null hypothesis that they occurred with constant rate during the study, as opposed to clustering at certain points in time. A generalized additive model showed that optical density ratio (OD ratio) is positively associated with being an adult and varies across individual camels and days, peaking at around days 20 and 90 of the study. Despite serological indication of probable virus circulation and intense repeated sampling, none of the tested nasal swab samples were positive for MERS-CoV RNA, suggesting that, if the identified serological responses are the result of virus circulation, the virus may be present in nasal tissue of infected camels during a very narrow time window. Conclusions Longitudinal testing of a closed camel herd with past history of MERS-CoV infection is compatible with the virus continuing to circulate in the herd despite lack of contact with other camels. It is likely that episodes of MERS-CoV infection in camels can take place with minimal presence of the virus in their nasal tissues, which has important implications for future surveillance and control of MERS-CoV in camel herds and prevention of its zoonotic transmission.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1746-6148
1746-6148
DOI:10.1186/s12917-023-03769-z