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Volume 21, Number 8—August 2015
Dispatch

Occupational Exposure to Dromedaries and Risk for MERS-CoV Infection, Qatar, 2013–2014

Chantal B.E.M. Reusken1Comments to Author , Elmoubasher A.B.A. Farag1, Bart L. Haagmans1, Khaled A. Mohran1, Gert-Jan Godeke, Stalin Raj, Farhoud Alhajri, Salih A. Al-Marri, Hamad Al-Romaihi, Mohamed Al-Thani, Berend-Jan Bosch, Annemiek A. van der Eijk, Ahmed M. El-Sayed, Adel K. Ibrahim, N. Al-Molawi, Marcel A. Müller, Syed K. Pasha, Sung Sup Park, Mohd M. AlHajri, and Marion P.G. Koopmans
Author affiliations: Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (C.B.E.M. Reusken, B.L. Haagmans, V.S. Raj, A.A. van der Eijk, M.P.G. Koopmans); Supreme Council of Health, Doha, Qatar (E.A.B.A Farag, S.A. Al-Marri, H.E. Al-Romaihi, M. Al-Thani, A.M. El-Sayed, M.M. AlHajri); Agricultural Research Center, Cairo, Egypt (K.A. Mohran); Ministry of Environment, Doha (K.A. Mohran, F. Alhajri); National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands (G.-J. Godeke, M.P.G. Koopmans); Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands (B.-J. Bosch); Leawaina Camel Hospital, Dukhan, Qatar (A.K. Ibrahim, S.K. Pasha); Hamad Medical Centre, Doha (N. Al-Molawi); University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany (M.M. Müller, C. Drosten)

Main Article

Table

Results of MERS-CoV serologic testing of humans with and without dromedary contact, Qatar, 2013–2014*

Exposure type, cohort Country Serum samples tested by
S1 assay, no. positive/no. tested PRNT90, no. positive/no. tested†
S1-positive S1-negative
Dromedary contact 20/294 10/20 1/35
A, slaughterhouse workers
A1, camel slaughterers Qatar 4/5 2/4 (40, 20) NT
A2, sheep slaughterers (contact with camels/camel slaughterers) Qatar 3/104 2/3 (20, 20) 1/16 (20)
B, central animal market workers Qatar 1/8 0 NT
C, barn workers at international camel racing track Qatar 4/22 3/4 (40, 40, 20) NT
D, camel farm workers
 Qatar
 8/155
 3/8 (40, 40, 20)
 0/19
No dromedary contact 0/204 NA 0/48
E, construction workers Qatar 0/56 NA 0/48
F, sheep farmers Qatar 0/10 NA NT
G, specificity controls
G1, recent infection with a common hCoV GER, NL 0/66 NA NT
G2, suspected infection with Bordetella pertussis NL 0/72 NA NT

*GER, Germany; hCoV, human coronavirus; MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; NA, not applicable; NL, the Netherlands; NT, not tested; PRNT90, 90% plaque-reduction neutralization test; S1, MERS-CoV S1 antigen.
†Nos. in parentheses are reciprocal antibody titers in PRNT90.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: July 15, 2015
Page updated: July 15, 2015
Page reviewed: July 15, 2015
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