Coronavirus - Photo Credit WHO
# 7557
The World Health Organization, partially in response to yesterday’s announcement in the Lancet: Camels Found With Antibodies To MERS-CoV-Like Virus, has updated their Frequently Asked Questions page on the MERS Coronavirus.
The entire FAQ – which is frequently updated with the latest information - is worth reading, but I’ve excerpted the portion addressing the camel study below:
Frequently Asked Questions on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
9 August 2013
(EXCERPT)
What is the significance of recent findings of virus antibodies in camels?
The recent study by Reusken and colleagues (link to the article) suggests that MERS-CoV or a virus very similar to the MERS-CoV has been recently circulating among camels. More study is needed to know whether the virus is actually the identical to that found in humans. To do this, it is important to recover the MERS virus itself from a camel.
The paper provides a very important clue to the source of the virus and a direction for further investigation. The most critical question remains to be answered, that is, the type of human exposures that result in infection. Most human cases do not have a history of direct contact with camels; if camels or other animals are the source, the route of transmission to humans may be indirect.
It is premature to rule out the possibility that other animals might serve as a reservoir or an intermediate host for the MERS-CoV. There continues to be a need for well planned, structured investigations carried out in conjunction with exposure investigations in humans.
