VDU Blog: A Deeper Look At The MacIntyre MERS-CoV Paper

Credit FAO

 

 

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Yesterday, in  Debating A Controversial MERS Paper, we looked at a rebuttal in the online academic forum The Conversation - by researchers @influenza_bio, @MackayIM, @maiamajumder, @neva925, @stgoldst & @kat_arden -  of a controversial paper by Professor Raina MacIntyre  that suggested that the  `human release’  of MERS-CoV could be behind the erratic outbreaks we’ve seen in the Middle East.

At just over a thousand words, this rebuttal was geared for the general reader, and so a lot of details were glossed over.

 

Today Dr. Mackay and company have posted a much longer analysis of the MacIntyre paper – one that runs well over 3,000 words – which dissects the MacIntyre paper more thoroughly. 

 

While acknowledging that bioterrorism is always `possible’, they argue that – based on the evidence – it  is an extremely unlikely scenario for MERS.

 

Follow the link below to read:

 

Virus variability, dopey data and insufficient infection control do not support the theory that bioterrorism is behind the ongoing MERS-CoV outbreak.

A collaborative note from (alphabetically): @influenza_bio, @MackayIM, @maiamajumder, @neva925, @stgoldst, @kat_arden

Referral: Are MERS Cases In Saudi Arabia & UAE Linked To Camel Imports?

Credit VDU Blog 

 

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One of the great advantages (and pleasures) of following scientists on Twitter is you get to hang around – like a fly on the wall – while they discuss and hash out theories, possibilities, and SWAGs on various issues.   On the downside, the 140 character format often leads to cryptic conversations.

 

So I’m very pleased to see that @Influenza_bio (A Biologist) has returned to Dr. Ian Mackay’s VDU blog today with another guest article – one  that fleshes out a running twitter conversation (with graphics) from earlier this week.

 

You may recall that @Influenza_bio previously penned a couple of terrific guest articles at VDU, including Watching zoonoses evolve... and Can we believe every H7N9 seroprevalence study we see? – both of which are absolutely worth taking the time to read.

 

Today’s offering is a lengthy, step-by-step analysis of the potential role that imported camels may play in the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.   While the author describes it as a `very speculative hypothesis’, it is also both well reasoned, and well presented.

 

Follow the link to read:

 

 

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Are MERS cases in Saudi Arabia and the UAE linked to camel imports?

Special Guest writer: @influenza_bio

Looking at the history of MERS coronavirus infections to date, many puzzling questions come to mind.

Evidence of MERS infection has been detected in dromedary camels from Spain to Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula. Why have we seen human cases arise only in a handful of countries in the Arabian Peninsula?

Why have nearly all MERS cases originated in Saudi Arabia (KSA)?

As of June 22, 2014, 718 cases are thought to have been contracted in KSA. The UAE, a distant second, has had 69 cases. Jordan has had 17; Qatar has had 9 (although 1 had a travel history to KSA), Kuwait 3, Oman 2 and Yemen 1. All of these countries have a lot of camels.

(Continue . . . )

 

 

Given the quality of these first offerings from @Influenza_bio, I look forward to future installments.

Referral: VDU Blog - Watching Zoonoses Evolve

The acceleration of MERS Cases – VDU Blog

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I’m not quite sure how I missed it (I can only plead a recent lack of sleep & Arabic-twitter-reading induced psychosis) – but only now have I stumbled upon Saturday’s terrific guest blog by @influenza_bio on Dr. Ian Mackay’s VDU blog, that discusses the ever present threat posed by zoonotic diseases.

 

After providing a suitable background, and a quick overview of recent MERS outbreak history, @influneza_bio proceeds to explain why the MERS virus’s recent surge may be an early warning sign that this emerging coronavirus is evolving, and adapting to human hosts.

 

I’ll not give anymore away, other than to say you really want to read this article.   Follow the link below to read:

 

Watching zoonoses evolve...

Special guest writer: @influenza_bio

For the first time in human history, we are watching diseases jump from animals to humans on a large scale. We've seen diseases appear for the first time in humans before; that's not new. We've seen HIV and several new strains of influenza emerge over the past century or so, for example. What is new is that we can now watch this process as it happens. We are able to watch animal diseases trickle case by case into humans, and we wonder whether any of these diseases might some day become human diseases. We wonder whether we might be watching pandemics develop in real time.

(Continue . . .)

 

 

For another highly informative blog by @influenza_bio, check out  Can we believe every H7N9 seroprevalence study we see?.