Prevalence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Dromedary Camels,Tunisia |
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| Authors: | Simone Eckstein,Rosina Ehmann,Abderraouf Gritli,Houcine Ben Yahia,Manuel Diehl,Roman Wö lfel,Mohamed Ben Rhaiem,Kilian Stoecker,Susann Handrick,Mohamed Ben Moussa |
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| Affiliation: | Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany (S. Eckstein, R. Ehmann, M. Diehl, R. Wölfel, K. Stoecker, S. Handrick);Ministry of National Defense, General Directorate of Military Health, Veterinary Service, Tunis, Tunisia (A. Gritli, H. Ben Yahia, M. Ben Rhaiem);Military Hospital of Instruction of Tunis Department of Virology, Tunis (M. Ben Moussa) |
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| Abstract: | Free-roaming camels, especially those crossing national borders, pose a high risk for spreading Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). To prevent outbreaks, active surveillance is necessary. We found that a high percentage of dromedaries in Tunisia are MERS-CoV seropositive (80.4%) or actively infected (19.8%), indicating extensive MERS-CoV circulation in Northern Africa. |
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| Keywords: | MERS-CoV Middle East respiratory coronavirus seroprevalence phylogenetic analyses dromedary camels Camelus dromedarius North Africa Tunisia viruses zoonoses respiratory infections |
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