Saudi scientists have detected genetic fragments of the deadly MERS coronavirus in air from a barn holding an infected camel, a finding that suggests that the virus could spread through the air.
Researchers on three consecutive days in November last year collected three air samples from a camel barn owned by a 43-year-old male infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
The man lived south of the town of Jeddah and later died from the condition.
Four of the man's nine camels had shown signs of nasal discharge the week before the patient became ill; he had applied a topical medicine in the nose of one of the ill camels seven days before experiencing symptoms.
Using a laboratory technique called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect gene expression, researchers found that the first air sample, collected on November 7, contained genetic fragments of MERS-CoV.
This was the same day that one of the patient's camels tested positive for the disease.
The other samples did not test positive for MERS-CoV, suggesting short or intermittent shedding of the virus into the air surrounding the camels, said lead study author Esam Azhar, head of the Special Infectious Agents Unit at King Fahd Medical Research Center and associate professor of medical virology at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
Additional experiments confirmed the presence of MERS-CoV-specific genetic sequences in the first air sample and found that these fragments were exactly identical to fragments detected in the camel and its sick owner.
"The clear message here is that detection of airborne MERS-CoV molecules, which were 100 per cent identical with the viral genomic sequence detected from a camel actively shedding the virus in the same barn on the same day, warrants further investigations and measures to prevent possible airborne transmission of this deadly virus," Azhar said.
"This study also underscores the importance of obtaining a detailed clinical history with particular emphasis on any animal exposure for any MERS-CoV case, especially because recent reports suggest higher risk of MERS-CoV infections among people working with camels," he added.
MERS, a serious viral respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, has been identified in 699 people as of June 11, according to the World Health Organisation; 209 people have died from the condition.
An additional 113 cases occurring between 2012 and 2014 were reported by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health on June 3.
The work is published in mBio, the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
