Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Seropositivity in Camel Handlers and Their Families, Pakistan

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 25; no. 12; pp. 2307 - 2309
• Main Authors: Zheng, Jian, Hassan, Sohail, Alagaili, Abdulaziz N, Alshukairi, Abeer N, Amor, Nabil M S, Mukhtar, Nadia, Nazeer, Iqra Maleeha, Tahir, Zarfishan, Akhter, Nadeem, Perlman, Stanley, Yaqub, Tahir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.12.2019; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; camel handlers; Camelus; Child; coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronavirus Infections - transmission; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Dispatch; Family; Farmers; Female; Health; Humans; Infection; Infection control; Male; MERS-CoV; Middle Aged; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus - immunology; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Seropositivity in Camel Handlers and Their Families, Pakistan; Pakistan; Pakistan - epidemiology; Pneumonia; Public health; Public Health Surveillance; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Travelers; Young Adult; Pakistan; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; India; camel handlers; viruses; Pakistan; pneumonia; coronavirus; zoonoses; MERS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome; respiratory infections
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2512.191169

A high percentage of camel handlers in Saudi Arabia are seropositive for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. We found that 12/100 camel handlers and their family members in Pakistan, a country with extensive camel MERS-CoV infection, were seropositive, indicating that MERS-CoV infection of these populations extends beyond the Arabian Peninsula.