Geographic distribution of MERS coronavirus among dromedary camels, Africa.

Chantal B.E.M Reusken,Berend-Jan Bosch,Ashenafi Feyisa,Fufa Dawo,Yusuf Woma,Bart L Haagmans,Ilse Zutt,Mohamed Jemli,Lilia Messadi,Hussaini Ularamu,Endrias Zewdu Gebremedhin,Gert-Jan Godeke,Yiltawe Wungak,Simenew Melaku,David Shamaki,Marion P.G Koopmans,Agom Danmarwa

doi:10.3201/eid2008.140590

Abstract

We found serologic evidence for the circulation of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among dromedary camels in Nigeria, Tunisia, and Ethiopia. Circulation of the virus among dromedaries across broad areas of Africa may indicate that this disease is currently underdiagnosed in humans outside the Arabian Peninsula.

Highlights

We found serologic evidence for the circulation of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among dromedary camels in Nigeria, Tunisia, and Ethiopia
Samples were collected from 155 dromedaries in Sidi Bouzid Province from 27 herds that were kept for meat production and from 39 dromedaries in Kebili Province from 16 herds that were kept for tourist rides; samples from both provinces had originally been collected for a study investigating the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum
MERS-CoV genomic fragments have been detected in dromedaries in Qatar [10] and Saudi Arabia [9]; near full-genome sequences have been generated from dromedaries in Egypt [5] and full-genome sequences have been generated from dromedaries in Saudi Arabia [13]

Summary

Conclusions

Since the discovery of MERS-CoV in 2012, accumulating serologic and molecular evidence demonstrates that the virus in dromedaries is genetically very similar to MERS-CoV in humans and points to the conclusion that dromedary camels are reservoirs for human infection. We show serologic evidence for circulation of MERS-CoV or MERS-like CoV in dromedaries in countries in East, West, and North Africa, with possible herd-specific differences in prevalence in Tunisia. The lower seropositivity observed in herds raised for meat production in Tunisia might reflect a high turnover of camels with a continuous introduction of animals unexposed to the MERS-CoV into these herds. Samples in this study were collected during 2009– 2011, confirming observations by us and others [6] that the virus circulated well before March 2012, which is the

Saudi Arabia

Sidi Bouzid