Title |
Prion Disease in Dromedary Camels, Algeria - Volume 24, Number 6—June 2018 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC
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Published in |
Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2018
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DOI | 10.3201/eid2406.172007 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Baaissa Babelhadj, Michele Angelo Di Bari, Laura Pirisinu, Barbara Chiappini, Semir Bechir Suheil Gaouar, Geraldina Riccardi, Stefano Marcon, Umberto Agrimi, Romolo Nonno, Gabriele Vaccari |
Abstract |
Prions cause fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, scrapie in small ruminants, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). After the BSE epidemic, and the associated human infections, began in 1996 in the United Kingdom, general concerns have been raised about animal prions. We detected a prion disease in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Algeria. Symptoms suggesting prion disease occurred in 3.1% of dromedaries brought for slaughter to Ouargla abattoir in 2015-2016. We confirmed diagnosis by detecting pathognomonic neurodegeneration and disease-specific prion protein (PrPSc) in brain tissues from 3 symptomatic animals. Prion detection in lymphoid tissues is suggestive of the infectious nature of the disease. PrPSc biochemical characterization showed differences with BSE and scrapie. Our identification of this prion disease in a geographically widespread livestock species requires urgent enforcement of surveillance and assessment of the potential risks to human and animal health. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 9 | 20% |
United Kingdom | 6 | 13% |
Spain | 1 | 2% |
Belgium | 1 | 2% |
Netherlands | 1 | 2% |
Mexico | 1 | 2% |
Japan | 1 | 2% |
Saudi Arabia | 1 | 2% |
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 1 | 2% |
Other | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 22 | 49% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 34 | 76% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 4 | 9% |
Scientists | 4 | 9% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 7% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 94 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 26 | 28% |
Researcher | 11 | 12% |
Student > Master | 8 | 9% |
Student > Bachelor | 8 | 9% |
Student > Postgraduate | 4 | 4% |
Other | 10 | 11% |
Unknown | 27 | 29% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 12 | 13% |
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 11 | 12% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 11 | 12% |
Neuroscience | 6 | 6% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 5 | 5% |
Other | 14 | 15% |
Unknown | 35 | 37% |