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Review
. 2019 Aug 21:8:100102.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2019.100102. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Some One Health based control strategies for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Maged Gomaa Hemida  1   2 , Abdelmohsen Alnaeem  3
Affiliations
Review

Some One Health based control strategies for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Maged Gomaa Hemida et al. One Health. .

Abstract

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) presents an ideal example for developing One Health concepts. Dromedary camels are the principal reservoir for the virus. Infected camels shed the virus in body secretions, particularly nasal discharges. MERS-CoV has the potential to remain active in the environment for some time under optimum conditions of temperature and humidity. This shedding sustains the virus in endemic communities and thus contact with camels is considered a major risk factor for human infection. Reducing virus shedding from camels will have a great positive impact on reducing the human risk of infection. Our main objective is to highlight the potential aspects of reducing virus shedding from camels to the environment, thereby reducing the possibility of human infection. We will focus on the potential roles of camel markets, camel shows, importation, transportation and grazing in the amplification and shedding of the virus, providing some novel concepts for the control approaches for the MERS-CoV.

Keywords: Dromedary camel; Human; MERS-CoV; One Health; Shedding; Transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declared there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Design showing the construction of an animal market and a slaughterhouse in the Arabian Peninsula. (A) The animal market consists of several pens to accommodate several species of animals especially dromedary camels, sheep, and goat. Each pen is assigned for one group of animals on the two sides of the market. Some pens assigned to accommodate the foreign imported breed of camels from Sudan and Somalia. The daily Haraj market is designed at the center of the market. Some animals from all pens in the market and from outside from the neighboring regions participate in this daily sale held in every afternoon. Some of the sold animals are transferred directly to the adjacent abattoir. Some other animals transported to the other regions for various purposes (breeding, slaughtering, showing, etc). The non-sold animals return to their pens in the market. (B) Design of a slaughterhouse in the Arabian Peninsula. It consists of several slaughtering halls assigned for each species. Some halls are connected to each other. There is an animal quarantine zone in front of the market. There is a customer hall, which is connecting the slaughtering halls and separated with glass partitions. Some animals transferred from the local adjacent market to the abattoir for further slaughtering and processing.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proposed model for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus/dromedary camels/human interaction. The MERS-CoV is transmitted among dromedary camels through the respiratory routes. Strong evidence of the transmission of the virus from dromedary camels to human. Human to human transmission is well documented. Blockage or minimizing the virus shedding from camels will reduce the potential risk of infection with MERS-CoV, pathways marked by the symbol (X). The non-confirmed pathway is marked by a question mark (?).
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