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Abdelazim M, Abdelkader R, Ali A, Shahein MA, Tadesse Z, Saad A, Mansour A, Ali SF, Atea M, Gardner E, VonDobschuetz S, Morzaria S, Makonnen Y, Lubroth J, Sumption K, ElMasry I, Zakaria T, Eid S, Hatab EA, Hagag NM, Yousef HMY, Emara M, Abdelwahed DA, Abdelmegeed HK, Hamdy ME, Mansour ONO, Guitian J. A longitudinal study of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels. BMC Vet Res 2023; 19:228. [PMID: 37919680 PMCID: PMC10621169 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03769-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified in humans in 2012. Since then, 2605 cases and 937 associated deaths have been reported globally. Camels are the natural host for MERS-CoV and camel to human transmission has been documented. The relationship between MERS-CoV shedding and presence of neutralizing antibodies in camels is critical to inform surveillance and control, including future deployment of camel vaccines. However, it remains poorly understood. The longitudinal study conducted in a closed camel herd in Egypt between December 2019 and March 2020 helped to characterize the kinetics of MERS-CoV neutralizing antibodies and its relation with viral shedding. RESULTS During the 100-day longitudinal study, 27 out of 54 camels (50%) consistently tested negative for presence of antibodies against MERS-CoV, 19 (35.2%) tested positive and 8 (14.8%) had both, positive and negative test results. Fourteen events that could be interpreted as serological indication of probable infection (two seroconversions and twelve instances of positive camels more than doubling their optical density ratio (OD ratio) in consecutive samples) were identified. Observed times between the identified events provided strong evidence (p = 0.002) against the null hypothesis that they occurred with constant rate during the study, as opposed to clustering at certain points in time. A generalized additive model showed that optical density ratio (OD ratio) is positively associated with being an adult and varies across individual camels and days, peaking at around days 20 and 90 of the study. Despite serological indication of probable virus circulation and intense repeated sampling, none of the tested nasal swab samples were positive for MERS-CoV RNA, suggesting that, if the identified serological responses are the result of virus circulation, the virus may be present in nasal tissue of infected camels during a very narrow time window. CONCLUSIONS Longitudinal testing of a closed camel herd with past history of MERS-CoV infection is compatible with the virus continuing to circulate in the herd despite lack of contact with other camels. It is likely that episodes of MERS-CoV infection in camels can take place with minimal presence of the virus in their nasal tissues, which has important implications for future surveillance and control of MERS-CoV in camel herds and prevention of its zoonotic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Abdelhakim Ali
- General Organization for Veterinary Service, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Momtaz A Shahein
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Zelalem Tadesse
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Saad
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amal Mansour
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Samah F Ali
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Atea
- General Organization for Veterinary Service, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Emma Gardner
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
| | | | - Subhash Morzaria
- Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases, Texas A & M University, College Station, USA
| | - Yilma Makonnen
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | | | - Keith Sumption
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
| | - Ihab ElMasry
- Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
| | - Tarek Zakaria
- General Organization for Veterinary Service, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Samah Eid
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman Abo Hatab
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Naglaa M Hagag
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | - Mervate Emara
- General Organization for Veterinary Service, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Dina A Abdelwahed
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hala K Abdelmegeed
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mervat E Hamdy
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Othman N O Mansour
- Agriculture Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
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Hassanien RT, Hussein HA, Abdelmegeed HK, Abdelwahed DA, Khattab OM, Ali MH, Habashi AR, Ibraheem EM, Shahein MA, Abohatab EM. West Nile virus: The current situation in Egypt. Vet World 2023; 16:1154-1160. [PMID: 37576775 PMCID: PMC10420704 DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1154-1160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and Aim Due to climatic changes, arthropod-borne viruses have become a global health concern. In Egypt, West Nile virus (WNV) was initially detected in humans in 1950 and then in 1951, 1954, 1968, and 1989. Although WNV infection has been recorded in numerous Middle Eastern countries, its prevalence among the equine population in Egypt is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the current situation of vector-borne WNV in Egypt, estimate its seroprevalence, and assess the associated risk factors. Materials and Methods We screened 1100 sera samples and nasal swabs from the same equids, 156 mosquito pools, and 336 oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs from migratory birds for WNV. The sera were investigated for the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) against WNV-prE. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect WNV RNA in the nasal swab samples, mosquito pools, and migratory birds' oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs. Results The seroprevalence showed positive IgG in sera samples collected from different districts. The data showed that horses were 1.65-fold more susceptible than donkeys, with male being 1.45 times more susceptible than females. Moreover, the tested equids samples were divided into three groups based on their age: <5 years, 5-10 years, and >10 years. The 5-10-year group was 1.1 and 1.61 times more vulnerable to infection than the <5- and >10 year groups. All the sera samples were negative for IgM. The nasal swabs from equids, oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs from migratory birds, and mosquito samples tested negative for WNV by molecular detection. Conclusion Based on the obtained data, we recommend that effective control programs should be implemented to enable epidemiological investigations and understand the current situation of WNV in Egypt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabab T. Hassanien
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Heba A. Hussein
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Hala K. Abdelmegeed
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Dina A. Abdelwahed
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Omnia M. Khattab
- Genome Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - M. H. Ali
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed R. Habashi
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
- Virus Strain Bank, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Essam M. Ibraheem
- Department of Pathology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Momtaz A. Shahein
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
| | - Eman M. Abohatab
- Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt
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