African camels could hold a key to controlling the spread of the MERS virus in humans

“Camels are an extremely important source of livelihood, nutrition and income in Africa. They are especially common in arid and semi-arid areas of the continent, particularly in East Africa. But having these animals around may not be risk-free for humans.”

Susan MacMillan's avatarILRI Clippings

SamplingACamel_ByEricFevre

Taking a blood sample from a came (photo credit: Eric Fèvre).

‘African camels could hold important clues to controlling the potential spread of a respiratory disease transmitted by the animals.

‘For many years African camels have lived with the disease and the risk of it spreading to humans is still low. But more research is necessary to understand the disease better. This is even more important given the confirmation that the chains of transmission of the human Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection originated from contact with camels. MERS was first recognised in 2012.

Camels are an extremely important source of livelihood, nutrition and income in Africa. They are especially common in arid and semi-arid areas of the continent, particularly in East Africa. But having these animals around may not be risk-free for humans.

‘However, there have been no human cases of MERS diagnosed in Africa. This could be…

View original post 567 more words

Unknown's avatar

About Dr. Bukar USMAN, mni

I started as a field Veterinary officer with Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and later joined College of Agric, Maiduguri as a lecture & a Researcher in the Department of Animal Health & Production. I was appointed the Provost of the College In 2003. In 2007 I was appointed Hon. Commissioner & Member Borno State Executive Council and later appointed Permanent Secretary with the Borno State Civil Service in 2009. I was the National Facilitator Animal Health, National Programme For Food Security of the Federal Ministry of Agric & Rural Development, Abuja. I was Director, Veterinary Medicine & Allied Products (VMAP) and now Director North East Zone NAFDAC. I’m a member of the National Institute’ (mni), Kuru SEC 40, 2018. I engaged myself in various aspects of the veterinary profession. I founded Sril Group Ltd, Nigeria. I’m now the Director General of Borno State Livestock Management Agency (BOLMA)
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a comment