A camel infected with Corona virus, health ministry reveals

A camel in Jeddah province proved to have contracted a virus causing Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV), the Health Ministry disclosed today. In an exclusive statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the health ministry said that during testing and inspecting the environment and surroundings of a 43-year old corona virus Saudi holder in Jeddah province, the team discovered that one of the camels in the patient's zariba has tested positive to the virus causing corona. The Ministry added that it is currently coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and the relevant scientific bodies to confirm the new tests, isolate the virus and compare it with the genetic makeup of that of the patient, which if proved identical, would be a scientific discovery at the international level as regards the source of the virus and would lead to know more about the epidemiology of the disease and methods of its transmission.