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Alpacas in Qatar infected with MERS-CoV
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Alpacas raised as hobby animals in Qatar tested positive last year for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV — the first livestock outside of dromedary camels found to be infected with the virus that causes deadly MERS in humans, according to a report.
In a letter published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers said the discovery that alpacas were naturally susceptible to MERS-CoV means the virus could potentially circulate in areas with large populations of the animals.
Figure 1. Found mostly in South America, alpacas recently were discovered to be naturally susceptible to MERS-CoV.
Source:Shutterstock.com
Dromedary camels, common in the Middle East, are suspected of transmitting MERS-CoV to humans and playing a part in the recent MERS outbreak in the region. The majority of alpacas, a relative of camels, are found in South America, with around 88% of the world population living in Peru.
“Although MERS-CoV has not been found in camelids other than dromedaries outside the Arabian Peninsula so far, our observations raise the question of whether other camelids could become infected if MERS-CoV were introduced to regions with large populations of alpacas and possibly other closely related camelids,” the researchers wrote.
Other studies using animal models have indicated that alpacas may be suitable models for MERS-CoV infection and might be useful replacements for camels in a laboratory setting.
For this study, the researchers tested for MERS-CoV in 15 healthy alpacas from a herd of 20 — the only alpacas in Qatar at the time — and 10 dromedary camels from a herd of 25. The herds were being kept in the same barn complex at a farm in an area of Qatar with “extensive and continuous circulation” of the virus, the researchers wrote. They were cared for by the same workers who lived near the animals.
Serum samples showed MERS-CoV infection in all 15 alpacas and nine camels, according to the researchers.
Their findings, they wrote, prove alpacas are naturally susceptible to MERS-CoV infection, laying the foundation for further work to discover if the animals are another livestock reservoir of the virus.
“It remains to be determined whether alpacas, in parallel with dromedaries, will actually shed MERS-CoV and are capable of independent maintenance of the virus in their population,” the researchers wrote. “Differences in susceptibility to viral pathogens between New and Old World camelids have been observed before. Therefore, understanding the risk requires further assessment of the reservoir competence of alpacas for MERS-CoV (eg, through experimental infections) and an assessment of MERS-CoV–related viruses present in alpacas and other camelids in different parts of the world.” – by Gerard Gallagher
References:
Adney DR, et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.3201/eid2206.160192.
Crameri G, et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.3201/eid2206.160007.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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