A model of MERS-CoV acquisition (ver1)

With thanks to David Spalten (@dspalten) for discussion and considerations and AtRG for advice.First we heard about Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)-related viruses in bats in South Africa, then we read of antibodies in camels that reacted to MERS-CoV more than the most likely (known)...

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Bats are the host to a lot of viruses but do we know much about that?

In an article in Science today, Kai Kupferschmidt reminds us that while the chiropterans (bats belong to the Order Chiroptera which comprise >1,200 species) are a fascinating bunch. As you might expect from animals that make up a fifth of all mammals and reside on all continents except Antarctica  they harbour a lot of viruses and yet we still know very little about how the...

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A crack in the wall of MERS-CoV case information: new MERS cases, a key, a family cluster with 2 news cases from 1 [AMENDED]

Thanks to Prof Andrew Rambaut for pointing out my incorrect usage of R0In a strong piece by Maryn McKenna on Wired a bit over a week ago, she posited that "Censorship Doesn�t Just Stifle Speech � It Can Spread Disease".Today we see a possible turn of events. In an post on ProMED today, Prof Memish, Deputy Minister for Public Health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), penned...

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New WHO update on MERS cases

The latest WHO disease outbreak news (DON) addresses the 2 recent Qatari cases, noted previously here and here. Click to enlarge.Interestingly, it notes that the 1st case, which showed symptoms while travelling outside of Qatar, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was only travelling...

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MERS-CoV case numbers: WHO knows???

With the WHO's latest update we see that body's official MERS-CoV case count rise to 102 cases and 49 deaths. Its clear that even WHO is suffering from a lack of information - most cases listed here have no sex, date of onset of illness, hospitalisation or date of death. And its clearly not their role to dig into the minutiae of why the Saudi Arabian Ministry of...

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Two new MERS-CoV cases including new death

1st source for this post: FluTrackers (FT)FT has found that the Arabic language version of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Ministry of Health (MOH) website has added a new MERS-CoV case; that of a 55-year old with underlying disease (kidney failure) who is currently in an intensive care unit in Medina (along the western edge of KSA).Sadly a 2nd notification is that of a confirmed MERS-CoV...

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Dr Ziad Memish discusses MERS in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Insights from the Front Lines. UPMC Center for Health Security presentation by Dr Ziad Memish on MERS-CoV.August 21, 2013University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Center for Health Security recently organized a seminar by Dr Memish in which he discusses the Saudi experience with...

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An entire H7N9 genome from a clinical specimen in one shot

Some weeks back, Ren and colleagues described their use of next generation sequencing (or "deep" sequencing; unbiased, massively redundant sequencing of all the DNA or RNA in a sample - to put it very basically) to pull out the entire genome of an influenza A(H7N9) virus from 1 clinical sample. The new genome is called A/Jiangsu/2/2013(H7N9) and can already be found on GenBank....

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Healthcare workers may stay on the job when ill and can be shedding viral RNA...

In a prospective study in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, Esbenshade and colleagues described their analysis of 319 samples from a cohort of ill (119) and asymptomatic (200) healthcare workers (HCW) serving inpatients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children�s Hospital at Vanderbilt (MCJCHV)...

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New MERS-CoV case in Qatar [UPDATE: CONFIRMED; details for 59M updated]

My 1st source on this: FluTrackersThe Kuwait News Agency reports that the Qatari Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has logged a 29-year old male (29M) as having MERS-CoV. He is reportedly in intensive care and in critical condition.No sign of official confirmation as yet though. [UPDATE: The SCH, through...

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) issues health regulations for hajj visitors

The Saudi Gazette has the full list of regulations to be aware of if you have planned to arrive in the KSA for your hajj pilgrimage. Some of these will require some prior organization.Age, personal health, updated vaccination and concerns over spikes in polio transmission are all cover...

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Prof Lipkin: There is no more sequence coming from that bat sample

Many thanks to Prof Ian Lipkin's indulgence of my eMail questions.Also, check out the TWiV webcast by Prof Lipkin.So, I guess to carry on from last night's post....I stand surprised. Not even next-generation sequencing could pull any more sequence from the MERS-CoV-positive T.perforatus bat samples that thawed after the dry shipper (not a box+dry ice as I previously guessed,...

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T.perforatus MERS-CoV strain sequence, and others, online...

If you're a bit of a sequence collector/hoarder/nut then you'll be interested to know that the recent bat CoV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) sequences are now online on GenBank.Bat coronavirus Pikuh/CII_KSA_001/Riyadh/Saudi Arabia/2013Bat coronavirus Rhhar/CII_KSA_002/Bisha/Saudi Arabia/2013Bat coronavirus Rhhar/CII_KSA_003/Bisha/Saudi Arabia/2013Bat Coronavirus Taper/CII_KSA_287/Bisha/Saudi...

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Editor's rant: Why testing the few may not benefit the many...

Prospective screening without regard for whether the person is sick. That's what I think we need more of, in order to truly understand respiratory viruses and acute respiratory infections (ARIs). And I don't just mean the scary ones like MERS-CoV or influenza A(H5N1) virus or H7N9 or H7N7...

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MERS-CoV-positive Qatari man did not return from umrah, but developed symptoms while travelling [UPDATED]

Hat tip to crofsblogs and FluTrackersPerhaps an indication that MERS-CoV was circulating in pilgrims returning home from umrah. A recent news article notes that the patient in Qatar was probably infected outside Qatar; probably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) where he was performing umrah. [We now know this person was only travelling out of Qatar for 6-days - more likely he...

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Why only 181 nucleotides of T.perforatus MERS-CoV sequence?

In some of the many articles written about the new discovery this week, there were comments along the lines of  its amazing any sequence could be obtained from the samples cause they had sat for 48-hours at US customs and thawed. A more precise quote could be found here for example.I have some thoughts on that - and these come from me, someone who has worked with a lot of clinical human specimens...

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