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The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

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Animal-Origin Viral Zoonoses

Part of the book series: Livestock Diseases and Management ((LDM))

Abstract

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is one of the newly identified viral infections affecting humans. It was recently reported in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), particularly Saudi Arabia. The virus primarily causes respiratory failure in affected patients, but can also sometimes cause renal failure. The main reservoir of this virus is dromedary camels. Although a lot is known about the diseases pattern, pathogenesis, and immunity of MERS-CoV infection in humans, very little is known about these parameters in camels. The main goals of this book chapter are to discuss the current understandings about MERS-CoV infection in animals, particularly the dromedary camels. Special attention should be paid to the clinical pattern of MERS-CoV infection in animals, including clinical signs, pathological changes during virus infection, various methods of clinical and laboratory diagnosis, and the recent advances related to the control of MERS-CoV.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for their generous funding through the MERS-CoV research grant program (number 20-0004), which is a part of the Targeted Research Program (TRP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia

    Maged Gomaa Hemida

  2. Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt

    Maged Gomaa Hemida

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  1. Maged Gomaa Hemida
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Correspondence to Maged Gomaa Hemida .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Yashpal Singh Malik

  2. ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Raj Kumar Singh

  3. ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Kuldeep Dhama

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Hemida, M.G. (2020). The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). In: Malik, Y.S., Singh, R.K., Dhama, K. (eds) Animal-Origin Viral Zoonoses. Livestock Diseases and Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2651-0_11

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