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Volume 25, Number 12—December 2019

Research Letter

MERS-CoV in Camels but Not Camel Handlers, Sudan, 2015 and 2017

Elmoubasher Farag1, Reina S. Sikkema1, Ahmed A. Mohamedani, Erwin de Bruin, Bas B. Oude Munnink, Felicity Chandler, Robert Kohl, Anne van der Linden, Nisreen M.A. Okba, Bart L. Haagmans, Judith M.A. van den Brand, Asia Mohamed Elhaj, Adam D. Abakar, Bakri Y.M. Nour, Ahmed M. Mohamed, Bader Eldeen Alwaseela, Husna Ahmed, Mohd Mohd Alhajri, Marion Koopmans, Chantal Reusken2, and Samira Hamid Abd Elrahman2Comments to Author 
Author affiliations: Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar (E. Farag, M.M. Alhajri); Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (R.S. Sikkema, E. de Bruin, B.B.O. Munnink, F. Chandler, R. Kohl, A. van der Linden, N.M.A. Okba, B.L. Haagmans, M. Koopmans, C. Reusken); University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan (A.A. Mohamedani, S.H. Abd Elrahman); Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands (J.M.A. van den Brand); Blue Nile National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Wad Medani (A.M. Elhaj, A.D. Abakar, B.Y.M. Nour, A.M. Mohamed, S.H. Abd Elrahman); Tamboul Camel Research Centre, Tamboul, Sudan (B.E. Alwaseela, H. Ahmed); National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands (C. Reusken)

Main Article

Table

MERS-CoV RNA and antibody positivity among humans, bats, camels, and other livestock, Sudan, 2015 and 2017*

Sample type Location of sample collection 2015
 2017
No. samples MERS-CoV RNA, no. positive/total no. (%) MERS-CoV antibody, no. positive/total no. (%) No. samples MERS-CoV RNA, no. positive/total no. (%) MERS-CoV antibody, no. positive/total no. (%)
Camel worker serum
 Tamboul slaughter area 3 NT ND 35 NT ND
Tamboul market 8 NT ND NA
TCRC
 7
 NT
 ND
3
 NT
 ND
Camel serum†
 Tamboul slaughter areaठ4 ND 4/4 (100) 13 ND 13/13 (100)
Tamboul marketद 27 ND 26/27 (96) NA
TCRC¶ 31 ND 27/31 (87) 25 ND 25/25 (100)
Qatar§¶#
 90
 ND
 89/90 (99)
NA
Camel nasopharyngeal swabs†
 TCRC¶
 NA
24
 ND
 NT
Camel nasal swabs†
 Tamboul slaughter areaठ11 ND NT NA
Tamboul marketद 11 ND NT NA
TCRC¶ 31 ND NT 25 ND NT
Qatar§¶#**
 90
 3/90 (3)
 NT
NA
Camel ticks (Hyalomma dromedarii) from 25 camels
 TCRC
 155
ND
 NT
NA
Other animal serum
Cattle Tamboul slaughter area 6 ND ND 9 NT ND
Goat Tamboul slaughter area 5 ND ND 10 NT ND
Sheep Tamboul slaughter area 5 ND ND 10 NT ND
Donkey Tamboul slaughter area 5 ND ND 9 NT ND
Bat††
 TCRC
 3
 ND
 NT
NA
Bat tissue‡‡ TCRC 13 ND NT NA

*MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; NA, not available; ND, not detected; NT, not tested; TCRC, Tamboul Camel Research Centre.
†From camels >2 years of age.
‡Serum and swab samples received from the slaughter field and live animal market were not matched.
§Sample set included meat camels.
¶Sample set included milk camels.
#Sample set included race camels.
**Just imported into Qatar from Sudan.
††Genus unknown.
‡‡Tadarida spp.; lung, intestine, and brain tissues stored in formalin.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

2These authors were co–principal investigators.

Page created: November 18, 2019
Page updated: November 18, 2019
Page reviewed: November 18, 2019
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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