Camels were infected with this virus >10 years before the first human cases. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has caused an ongoing outbreak of severe acute respiratory tract infection in humans in the Arabian Peninsula since 2012. Dromedary camels have been implicated as possible viral reservoirs. We used serologic assays to analyze 651 dromedary camel serum samples from the United Arab Emirates; 151 of 651 samples were obtained in 2003, well before onset of the current epidemic, and 500 serum samples were obtained in 2013. Recombinant spike protein–specific immunofluorescence and virus neutralization tests enabled clear discrimination between MERS-CoV and bovine CoV infections. Most (632/651, 97.1%) camels had antibodies against MERS-CoV. This result included all 151 serum samples obtained in 2003. Most (389/651, 59.8%) serum samples had MERS-CoV–neutralizing antibody titers >1,280. Dromedary camels from the United Arab Emirates were infected at high rates with MERS-CoV or a closely related, probably conspecific, virus long before the first human MERS cases.
【저자키워드】 viruses, antibodies, coronavirus, United Arab Emirates, MERS, MERS-CoV, serologic analysis, Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, dromedary camels, Middle East respiratory syndrome, Camels, 【초록키워드】 antibody, Human, respiratory tract infection, virus, Epidemic, infections, outbreak, virus neutralization test, Antibody titer, CoV, bovine, immunofluorescence, recombinant, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, respiratory syndrome coronavirus, reservoirs, serum sample, MOST, Camel, Dromedary, serologic assay, were infected, caused, implicated, MERS cases, United Arab Emirate, 【제목키워드】 Dromedary,