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Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
Research

Ongoing Evolution of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, Saudi Arabia, 2023–2024

Ahmed M. Hassan1, Barbara Mühlemann1, Tagreed L. Al-Subhi, Jordi Rodon, Sherif A. El-Kafrawy, Ziad Memish, Julia Melchert, Tobias Bleicker, Tiina Mauno, Stanley Perlman, Alimuddin Zumla, Terry C. Jones, Marcel A. Müller, Victor M. Corman, Christian Drosten2Comments to Author , and Esam I. Azhar2Comments to Author 
Author affiliation: King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (A.M. Hassan, T.L. Al-Subhi, S.A. El-Kafrawy, E.I. Azhar); Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany (B. Mühlemann, J. Rodon, J. Melchert, T. Bleicker, T. Mauno, T.C. Jones, M.A. Müller, V.M. Corman, C. Drosten); German Center for Infection Research, Berlin (B. Mühlemann, J. Melchert, V.M. Corman, C. Drosten); Ministry of Health and Al-Faisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Z. Memish); Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Z. Memish); University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA (S. Perlman); University College London, London, UK (A. Zumla); University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, London (A. Zumla); University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (T.C. Jones)

Main Article

Table

Characteristics of camels with MERS-CoV–positive swab samples across 6 sampling sites, Saudi Arabia, 2023–2024*

Characteristics Total no. Sajir Al Duwadimi Al Riyadh Al Quwayiyah Shaqra Jeddah
Total no. camels sampled
 558
 94
 90
 108
 97
 68
 101
Swab samples taken
 576
 97
 101
 108
 98
 68
 104
Younger camels†
 291 (52.2)
 50 (53.2)
 24 (26.7)
 60 (55.6)
 48 (49.5)
 27 (39.7)
 82 (81.2)
MERS-CoV–positive camels
 217 (38.9)
 28 (29.8)
 63 (70.0)
 58 (53.7)
 21 (21.6)
 11 (16.2)
 36 (35.6)
MERS-CoV–positive samples
 235 (40.8)
 31 (32.0)
 74 (73.3)
 58 (53.7)
 22 (22.4)
 11 (16.2)
 39 (37.5)
MERS-CoV–positive camels†
 111 (19.9)
 14 (14.9)
 17 (18.9)
 35 (32.4)
 12 (12.4)
 5 (7.4)
 28 (27.7)
Mean PCR Ct (range)
 26.2 (10.0–34.0)
 23.4 (13.0–32.0)
 27.2 (14.0–32.0)
 27.9 (14.0–33.0)
 24.4 (15.0–32.0)
 16.2 (10.0–25.0)
 27.7 (11.0–34.0)
Mean PCR Ct (range)†
 26.4 (10.0–34.0)
 24.5 (13.0–32.0)
 27.1 (14.0–31.0)
 27.2 (14.0–33.0)
 23.9 (15.0–31.0)
 14.0 (10.0–17.0)
 28.9 (17.0–34.0)
Sequenced samples
 51
 13
 4
 8
 8
 9
 9
MERS-CoV genomes, >90% complete
 42
 12
 4
 8
 8
 4
 6
HCoV-229E samples, >10% complete
 9
 3
 1
 0
 0
 0
 5
HCoV-229E genomes, >90% complete 7 2 0 0 0 0 5

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Ct, cycle threshold; HCoV, human coronavirus; MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. †Camels <2 years of age.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

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Page updated: December 22, 2024
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