Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus neutralising serum antibodies in dromedary camels: a comparative serological study

Chantal BEM Reusken, Bart L Haagmans, Marcel A Müller, Carlos Gutierrez, Gert-Jan Godeke, Benjamin Meyer, Doreen Muth, V Stalin Raj, Laura Smits-De Vries, Victor M Corman, Jan-Felix Drexler, Saskia L Smits, Yasmin E El Tahir, Rita De Sousa, Janko van Beek, Norbert Nowotny, Kees van Maanen, Ezequiel Hidalgo-Hermoso, Berend-Jan Bosch, Peter Rottier, Albert Osterhaus, Christian Gortázar-Schmidt, Christian Drosten, Marion PG Koopmans, Reusken CB, Haagmans BL, Müller MA, Gutierrez C, Godeke GJ, Meyer B, Muth D, Raj VS, Vries LS, Corman VM, Drexler JF, Smits SL, El Tahir YE, De Sousa R, van Beek J, Nowotny N, van Maanen K, Hidalgo-Hermoso E, Bosch BJ, Rottier P, Osterhaus A, Gortázar-Schmidt C, Drosten C, Koopmans MP

A new betacoronavirus-Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)-has been identified in patients with severe acute respiratory infection. Although related viruses infect bats, molecular clock analyses have been unable to identify direct ancestors of MERS-CoV. Anecdotal exposure histories suggest that patients had been in contact with dromedary camels or goats. We investigated possible animal reservoirs of MERS-CoV by assessing specific serum antibodies in livestock.