Looks like Arabian camels might be hiding more than just fat in those furry humps.
Scientists have found evidence that dromedary camels — the ones with just one hump — may be carriers of the lethal coronavirus in the Middle East, which has infected at least 94 people and killed 46 since first appearing in Saudi Arabia last year.
The findings, published Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Disease, offer a new clue about where people might be catching the virus — one of the big mysterious surrounding the Middle East respiratory syndrome., or MERS.
Virologist Marion Koopmans and her team at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands looked for signs of previous MERS infections in 50 retired racing camels in Oman, which borders Saudi Arabia to the south. The team also tested 105 camels in the Canary Islands, Spain, off the coast of Western Africa.
Shots - Health News
Middle East Coronavirus Called 'Threat To The Entire World'