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Volume 25, Number 5—May 2019
Research

Risk Factors for MERS-CoV Seropositivity among Animal Market and Slaughterhouse Workers, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2014–2017

Ahmed Khudhair1, Marie E. Killerby1Comments to Author , Mariam Al Mulla, Kheir Abou Elkheir, Wassim Ternanni, Zyad Bandar, Stefan Weber, Mary Khoury, George Donnelly, Salama Al Muhairi, Abdelmalik I. Khalafalla, Suvang Trivedi, Azaibi Tamin, Natalie J. Thornburg, John T. Watson, Susan I. Gerber, Farida Al Hosani2, and Aron J. Hall2

Author affiliations: Abu Dhabi Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (A. Khudhair, M. Al Mulla, K.A. Elkheir, W. Ternanni, Z. Bandar, F. Al Hosani); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (M.E. Killerby, S. Trivedi, A. Tamin, N.J. Thornburg, J.T. Watson, S.I. Gerber, A.J. Hall); Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi (S. Weber, M. Khoury, G. Donnelly); Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, Abu Dhabi (S. Al Muhairi, A.I. Khalafalla)

Main Article

Table 1

Characteristics of 235 market and slaughterhouse workers, by MERS-CoV serostatus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates*

Characteristic
 Total no. participants
 No. (%) participants
 OR (95% CI)
 p value
Seronegative, n = 195
 Seropositive, n = 40
Work >50 h/wk 132 103 (78.0) 29 (22.0) 2.35 (1.14–5.17) 0.025
Worked another job in previous year
 30
 25 (83.3)
 5 (16.7)
 0.97 (0.31–2.53)
 0.956
Occupation
Other salesman 41 40 (97.6) 1 (2.4) Ref Ref
Animal handler 16 15 (93.8) 1 (6.3) 2.67 (0.1–70.37) 0.498
Butcher 65 56 (86.2) 9 (13.8) 6.43 (1.14–120.92) 0.083
Camel salesman 37 19 (51.4) 18 (48.6) 37.89 (7.03–707.16) 0.001
Cleaner 26 22 (84.6) 4 (15.4) 7.27 (1–147.06) 0.084
Animal or waste transporter 27 21 (77.8) 6 (22.2) 11.43 (1.79–223.48) 0.029
Veterinarian 9 8 (88.9) 1 (11.1) 5.00 (0.18–135.74) 0.272
Other
 14
 14 (100.0)
 0
 NA
 0.990
Nationality
Afghani 27 15 (55.6) 12 (44.4) Ref Ref
Bangladeshi 38 30 (78.9) 8 (21.1) 0.33 (0.11–0.97) 0.048
Pakistani 97 92 (94.8) 5 (5.2) 0.07 (0.02–0.21) <0.001
Sudanese 38 25 (65.8) 13 (34.2) 0.65 (0.23–1.79) 0.404
Other
 35
 33 (94.3)
 2 (5.7)
 0.08 (0.01–0.32)
 0.002
Contact with
Camels or waste daily 111 78 (70.3) 33 (29.7) 7.07 (3.14–18.15) <0.001
Cattle or waste daily 58 50 (86.2) 8 (13.8) 0.73 (0.29–1.61) 0.452
Goats or waste daily 88 79 (89.8) 9 (10.2) 0.43 (0.18–0.91) 0.036
Sheep or waste daily
 89
 80 (89.9)
 9 (10.1)
 0.42 (0.18–0.89)
 0.031
Drank raw camel milk 25 18 (72.0) 7 (28.0) 2.09 (0.76–5.21) 0.129
Ate raw camel meat†
 2
 1 (50.0)
 1 (50.0)
 4.95 (0.19–126.94)
 0.262
Travel
To Saudi Arabia 4 4 (100.0) 0 NA 0.990
Within UAE
 67
 55 (82.1)
 12 (17.9)
 1.09 (0.5–2.25)
 0.819
Underlying conditions
Asthma 1 0 1 (100.0) NA 0.985
Diabetes 9 5 (55.6) 4 (44.4) 4.22 (1–16.71) 0.038
Hypertension
 12
 9 (75.0)
 3 (25.0)
 1.68 (0.36–5.93)
 0.455
Sought care for respiratory illness 45 36 (80.0) 9 (20.0) 1.28 (0.54–2.84) 0.555
Contact with anyone with respiratory illness 2 1 (50.0) 1 (50.0) 1.38 (0.09–7.84) 0.731
Had chest radiograph 13 10 (76.9) 3 (23.1) 1.5 (0.32–5.18) 0.552

*MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; NA, not applicable; OR, odds ratio; Ref, referent; UAE, United Arab Emirates.
†Total seronegative was 194 because answer from 1 person was missing. No workers ever contacted the following species: dogs, cats, bats, rodents, birds, and other animals; 1 worker reported rarely contacting horses.

Main Article

1These authors contributed equally to this article.

2These authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: April 18, 2019
Page updated: April 18, 2019
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