Camels implicated as possible hosts of MERS virus
Antibodies to mysterious pathogen found in animals in Oman, Canary Islands
Camels may be intermediate hosts of a mysterious and deadly respiratory virus related to SARS that has sickened 94 people, killing 46, in parts of the Middle East, Europe and northern Africa.
Last year, the virus — now known as the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus — revealed itself to scientists after a few people became sick with severe pneumonia (SN: 3/23/13, p. 5). After examining the virus’s DNA, researchers discovered that the pathogen is related to similar viruses that infect bats, but none of the sick people had any known contact with bats.