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Volume 27, Number 7—July 2021
Dispatch

Prevalence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Dromedary Camels, Tunisia

Simone Eckstein, Rosina Ehmann, Abderraouf Gritli, Houcine Ben Yahia, Manuel Diehl, Roman Wölfel, Mohamed Ben Rhaiem, Kilian Stoecker1Comments to Author , Susann Handrick1, and Mohamed Ben Moussa1
Author affiliations: 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)

Main Article

Table

MERS-CoV IgG seropositivity and viral RNA presence in dromedary camels, by selected sampling parameters, Tunisia*

Sampling parameter No. dromedaries ELISA serologic testing, no. (%) positive for MERS-CoV IgG Molecular biology rRT-PCR, no. (%) positive for MERS-CoV RNA
Sex
M 131 86 (65.6) 14 (10.7)
F 370 317 (85.7) 85 (23.0)
p value
<0.05
 <0.01
Age group
Juvenile 45 2 (4.4) 18 (40.0)
0–6 mo 4 0 (0) 1 (25.0)
6–24 mo 41 2 (4.9) 17 (41.5)
Adult 456 401 (87.9) 81 (17.8)
2–6 y 81 62 (76.5) 19 (23.5)
6–12 y 179 157 (87.7) 28 (15.6)
12–25 y 190 176 (87.9) 32 (16.8)
>25 y 6 6 (100) 2 (33.3)
p value, juvenile compared with adult
 <0.00001
 <0.01
Sampling site
Ksar Ghilane, n = 6 211 154 (73.0) 49 (23.2)
Site 1 28 20 (71.4) 7 (25.0)
Site 2 20 8 (40.0) 0 (0)
Site 3 30 26 (86.7) 6 (20.0)
Site 4 20 19 (95.0) 1 (5.0)
Site 5 73 50 (68.5) 25 (34.2)
Site 6 40 31 (77.5) 10 (25.0)
Bazma, n = 7 168 152 (90.5) 32 (19.1)
Site 1 25 24 (96.0) 2 (8.0)
Site 2 30 25 (83.3) 8 (26.7)
Site 3 15 13 (86.7) 3 (20.0)
Site 4 15 14 (93.3) 1 (6.7)
Site 5 21 20 (95.2) 4 (19.0)
Site 6 16 13 (81.3) 6 (37.5)
Site 7 46 43 (93.5) 8 (17.4)
Douz, n = 5 53 32 (60.4) 4 (7.5)
Site 1a 4 3 (75.0) 0 (0)
Site 1b 4 0 (0) 0 (0)
Site 2 24 18 (75.0) 3 (12.5)
Site 3 18 10 (55.6) 1 (5.6)
Site 4 3 1 (33.3) 0 (0)
Mahrouga, n = 2 69 65 (94.2) 14 (20.3)
Site 1 42 40 (95.2) 3 (7.1)
Site 2 27 25 (92.6) 11 (40.7)
p value for comparisons among all 4 main sites
 0.05
 Not significant
Total 501 403 (80.4) 99 (19.8)

*MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus; rRT-PCR, real-time reverse transcription PCR.

Main Article

1These authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: May 06, 2021
Page updated: June 17, 2021
Page reviewed: June 17, 2021
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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