Camels accused source of the deadly SARS virus spreading through the middle East

Nasal swabs were taken from animals that seem serene them after the researchers launched a genetic test.

"Given these new data, we are now investigating potential routes for human infection through exposure to camel milk or meat products," said Abdulaziz Legali from king Saud University (King Saud University), who worked on the study."





Camels at the moment are considered as a source of the deadly MERS virus, a SARS-like condition that spreads through the middle East.

The researchers warn that it is not desirable to have close contact with animals, especially sick camels, as most of them infected with the same strain of the virus as people.

MERS, which stands for middle East Respiratory syndrome, has infected 345 people in Saudi Arabia since it was identified two years ago.



A further concern associated with the spread of the virus, due to the fact that Saudi Arabia has reported a large number of cases over the weekend, as they report the deaths approached 100.
The symptoms of the disease: fever, pneumonia, and sometimes renal failure, and one third of all patients eventually kills the virus.

Yesterday, acting Saudi health Minister Adel Fakie said at a press conference: "there was a consensus in the discussions that took place over the last two days after the scientific team reviewed various evidence in order to avoid close contact with camels, especially sick."

He also, after a meeting with external experts, including representatives from the world health organization, which were invited by the government to help investigate MERS. They also advised people not to use raw dairy products or uncooked camel meat.

A national survey of camels in Saudi Arabia shows many, if not most, are infected with a strain genetically almost identical to the strain that infects humans, reported by a team from Columbia University, king Saud University, and the Union of the "Alliance ecohealth is".

The MERS virus was first discovered in 2012 when an elderly man from Saudi Arabia died from the virus.

Experts in the field of health, is concerned that it is similar to the SARS virus, which has infected more than 8,000 people since 2003, and brought in 800 deaths.
MERS was discovered in people in the Middle East, such as Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates.







Source: eco-portal.kz