Mon, 09/22/2014 - 14:10 — Pramila Thapa
Animal with robust health that can survive in harsh environmental conditions, camel is a good opportunity for nutritional security in South Saharan Africa, SSA. The milk and meat from camel is really good for the human health said Anne Liljander in her presentation tin Tropentag 2014, Prague. But who knows if the same camel carries the deadly virus?
With the outbreak of a deadly disease in Saudi Arabia in 2012, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) caught an attention of researchers. Out of 250 human infections, 93 cases were reported fatal. Most of the people with this viral infection confirmed with this virus had serious respiratory illness. Anne and her team conducted research to find out the source of the virus. Finally, the viral strain was found in humped dromedary came that were imported from African Peninsula.
Getting back to the SSA, in Kenya, they found that 29% of camels were MERS positive. In the sample from 1992 (Kenya) and from 1983 (Somalia and Sudan), the camels had antibodies to MERS-Cov. It is always interesting to know if zoonotic diseases are fatal. Who knows if another “Evola-like” disease is too near to be pandemic? All the best for success on sustainable solution for the research team!
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