In Saudi Arabia, including regions of Riyadh and Al Ahsa, pseudoparticle neutralisation (ppNT) and microneutralisation (MNT) tests detected no antibodies to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in sheep (n= 100), goats (n= 45), cattle (n= 50) and chickens (n= 240). Dromedary camels however, had a high prevalence of MERS-CoV antibodies. Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) infected sera ...

Present distribution and economic potential According to FAO statistics there are about 19 million camels in the world, of which 15 million are found in Africa and 4 million in Asia. Of this estimated world population, 17 million are believed to be one-humped dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) and 2 millions two-humped (Camelus bactrianus). Approximately 11 million dromedaries, representing...

Objective- This study was performed to investigate the analgesic effects of lidocaine and lidocaine/tramadol combination in epidural anaesthesia in dromedary camels. Design- Experimental Study Animals- Eight healthy immature dromedary camels Methods - The camels were randomly designed in 2 equal groups. In group L: lidocaine 2% (0.22 mg/kg) and in group LT: a combination of lidocaine 2% (0.22 m...

Introduction MERS-CoV was discovered in 2012 in the Middle East and human cases around the world have been carefully reported by the WHO. MERS-CoV virus is a novel betacoronavirus closely related to a virus (NeoCov) hosted by a bat, Neoromicia capensis. MERS-CoV infects humans and camels. In 2015, MERS-CoV spread from the Middle East to South Korea which sustained an outbreak. Thus, it is clear...

All camelids (including the Bactrian [2 humps] and Dromedary [1 hump] old world camels) have a diploid number of 74 chromosomes. Interbreeding can occur between any of these species, producing fertile offspring. In llama and alpaca are occasionally interbred, producing an animal with longer but coarser fibre length than Alpaca. These are known as Huarizo. Using artificial insemination between o...

Objectives: to investigate classification and possible causes of dulaa disorders and effect of surgical removal on male sexual desire. Animals: Twenty six male camels (age=6-13years) with dulaa injuries were admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Sixteen camels showed signs of protruding, fluctuating and edematous dulaas. Other ten camels showed signs of...

Introduction: Ghrelin is a peptide hormone secreted from the stomach with both endocrine and paracrine effects. Ghrelin and its mRNA as well as growth hormone (GH) secretagogue receptor mRNAs are expressed in the pancreas and islet cells and regulate insulin release. Also the immounoreactivity of ghrelin is proved to be high in the hypothalamus and parts of the brain responsible for the re...

To the Editor: In a recent issue of Eurosurveillance, we read the article by Nowotny et al. [1]. In this article, the authors concluded, based on phylogenetic analysis and a high Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) load in nasal swabs of dromedary camels, that local zoonotic transmission of MERS-CoV from camels may be possible through the respiratory route. We would like to thank the...

Movements of two female one-humped camels in central Australia were tracked using satellite telemetry between March 1986 and July 1987. During that time both animals travelled a minimum distance of over 1000 km within a radius of 125 km for one animal, and 200 km for the other. However, their movements were quite punctuated and both animals spent periods of up to several months in relatively sm...