In vitro and in vivo characterization of a #bat #merbecovirus with #ACE2- and #DPP4-independent cell entry, https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2025/06/in-vitro-and-in-vivo-characterization.html
HKU5-CoV il nuovo coronavirus trasmissibile. Un team cinese scopre un nuovo coronavirus trasmissibile all'uomo. Studio condotto sui pipistrelli da una famosa virologa di Wuhan. Un team cinese ha scoperto un nuovo coronavirus dei pipistrelli che comporta il rischio di trasmissione da animale a uomo perché utilizza lo stesso recettore umano del virus che causa il Covid-19.
Lo studio, riporta il South China...
#coronavirus #Covid19 #HKU5CoV #merbecovirus #pipistrelli
https://scienzamagia.eu/sociale-collettivita/hku5-cov-il-nuovo-coronavirus-trasmissibile/
#Bat-infecting #merbecovirus HKU5-CoV #lineage 2 can use #human #ACE2 as a cell entry receptor, https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2025/02/bat-infecting-merbecovirus-hku5-cov.html
Ongoing #Evolution of #MERS-CoV, #Saudi Arabia, 2023–2024
Source: Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-1030_article
Abstract
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) circulates in dromedary camels in the Arabian Peninsula and occasionally causes spillover infections in humans. MERS-CoV diversity is poorly understood because of the lack of sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected 558 swab samples from dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia during November 2023–January 2024. We found 39% were positive for MERS-CoV RNA by reverse transcription PCR. We sequenced 42 MERS-CoVs and 7 human 229E-related coronaviruses from camel swab samples by using high-throughput sequencing. Sequences from both viruses formed monophyletic clades apical to recently available genomes. MERS-CoV sequences were most similar to B5 lineage sequences and harbored unique genetic features, including novel amino acid polymorphisms in the spike protein. Further characterization will be required to understand their effects. MERS-CoV spillover into humans poses considerable public health concerns. Our findings indicate surveillance and phenotypic studies are needed to identify and monitor MERS-CoV pandemic potential.
____
The #time between #symptom onset and various clinical #outcomes: a statistical #analysis of #MERS-CoV #patients in #Saudi Arabia
Source: Royal Society Open Science, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240094
Abstract
In this study, we investigate the impact of demographic characteristics on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases in Saudi Arabia, specifically focusing on the time intervals between symptom onset and key events such as hospitalization, case confirmation, reporting and death. We estimate these intervals using data from 2196 cases occurring between June 2012 and January 2020, partitioning the data into four age groups (0–24 years, 25–49 years, 50–74 years and 75–100 years). The duration from symptom onset to hospitalization varies between age cohorts, ranging from 4.03 to 4.75 days, with the 75–100 age group experiencing the longest delay. The interval from symptom onset to case confirmation spans 5.83–8.24 days, and again, the 75–100 age group faces the lengthiest delay. The interval from symptom onset and case reporting ranges from 7.0 to 9.8 days, with the 75–100 age group experiencing the longest delay. The period from symptom onset to death varies across age groups (12.3–16.1 days), with elevated mortality rates during outbreaks. Importantly, we observe age-based differences in the risk of hospitalization and other measures of infection severity, including the probability of death conditional on hospitalization. Careful quantification of epidemiological characteristics, including inference of key epidemiological periods and assessments of differences between cases of different ages, plays a crucial role in understanding the progression of MERS-CoV outbreaks and formulating effective public health strategies to mitigate their impact.
____
Source: New Microbes New Infections, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2052297524003007?via%3Dihub
{Excerpt}
Dear Editor:
On 5 September 2024, the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia confirmed the first human case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection in Pakistan [1]. This phenomene highlights an urgent epidemiological concern regarding the surveillance and response mechanisms in public health. Notably, since 2019, there have been no MERS-CoV cases reported outside the Middle East. The patient, a male aged between 50 and 55 years from Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region, presented with symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, and palpitations on 28 August. He was admitted as a cardiac patient to a local hospital on 31 August and transferred to a medical complex on 1 September, where he was discharged against medical advice on the same day. A nasopharyngeal swab taken on 1 September returned a positive MERS-CoV result on 4 September through real-time polymerase chain reaction. The patient traveled to Pakistan on 2 September, prior to receiving his results. The patient, who was not a healthcare worker, had several comorbidities. Field investigations did not reveal any camel exposure. Monitoring of one household member, 23 healthcare workers, and two patients with contact in Saudi Arabia revealed no secondary cases. One individual traveled to South Asia on 4 September, but no further cases were identified through contact tracing. Following notification from Saudi Arabia’s International Health Regulations National Focal Point on 5 September, Pakistani health authorities located the patient and placed him in isolation. Forty-one nasopharyngeal samples, including repeated samples from the patient and close contacts, were tested at Pakistan’s National Institute of Health. The patient tested positive, although with a low viral load, while all close contacts tested negative. No secondary cases were identified after 14 days of observation. This case underscores the growing threat posed by zoonotic diseases, particularly in regions where human-animal interactions are frequent. It also emphasizes the risk of MERS-CoV outbreaks in South Asia, extending beyond the traditional Middle East region.
(…)
____
Source: Journal of Virology, https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01305-24
ABSTRACT
Human-to-human transmission of the highly pathogenic Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is currently inefficient. However, there is concern that the virus might mutate and thereby increase its transmissibility and thus pandemic potential. The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 depends on a highly cleavable furin motif at the S1/S2 site of the viral spike (S) protein for efficient lung cell entry, transmission, and pathogenicity. Here, by employing pseudotyped particles, we investigated whether augmented cleavage at the S1/S2 site also increases MERS-CoV entry into Calu-3 human lung cells. We report that polymorphism T746K at the S1/S2 cleavage site or optimization of the furin motif increases S protein cleavage but not lung cell entry. These findings suggest that, unlike what has been reported for SARS-CoV-2, a highly cleavable S1/S2 site might not augment MERS-CoV infectivity for human lung cells.
____
Source: Lancet Infectious Diseases, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00423-7/abstract?rss=yes
Summary
Background
MERS-CoV is a respiratory pathogen with a case-fatality rate of 36%, and for which no vaccines are currently licensed. MVA-MERS-S is a candidate vaccine based on recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). In this study, the safety, immunogenicity, and optimal dose schedule of MVA-MERS-S was assessed in individuals with previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccines.
Methods
We conducted a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled phase 1b clinical trial at two university medical centres in Germany and the Netherlands. Healthy volunteers aged 18–55 years were assigned by computer randomisation to receive three intramuscular injections of 107 or 108 plaque-forming units (PFU) of MVA-MERS-S, with two treatment groups each of either 28-day or 56-day intervals between the initial two doses, and one control arm that received only placebo, at a ratio of 2:2:2:2:1. The third dose was given after 224 days. The sponsor, clinical and laboratory staff, and participants were masked to both vaccine dose and dosing interval. The primary outcome was safety, assessed in the all participants who had received at least one injection; daily solicited vaccine reactions were recorded after each dose for 7 days, unsolicited adverse events for 28 days, and serious adverse events throughout the study. The secondary outcome was humoral immunogenicity, measured with vaccine-induced geometric mean antibody concentrations and seroconversion rates, analysed in all participants who received at least three allocated treatments. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04119440) and is completed.
Findings
Between 26 July, 2021, and 3 March, 2022, 244 volunteers were screened, 177 of whom were eligible and 140 were randomly assigned either to the 28-day 107 PFU group (n=32), 56-day 107 PFU group (n=31), 28-day 108 PFU group (n=31), 56-day 108 PFU group (n=30), or placebo group (n=16). In total, 178 doses were administered of 107 PFU of MVA-MERS-S, 174 of 108 PFU, and 164 doses of placebo, and 139 participants received at least one injection. 73 (53%) were female and 66 (48%) were male. No serious vaccine-related adverse events occurred. Solicited local reactions were mild in 288 (93%, 95% CI 90–96) of 309 reports and consisted primarily of pain or tenderness. Pain or tenderness (of any severity) occurred after 69 (39%, 32–46) of 178 107 PFU injections, 138 (79%; 73–85) of 174 108 PFU injections, and 18 (11%; 7–11) of 164 placebo injections. Of 595 reported solicited systemic reactions, 479 (81%, 77–83) were graded as mild. Systemic reactions of any grade occurred after 77 (43%; 36–51) 107 PFU injections, 102 (59%; 51–66) 108 PFU injections, and 67 (41%; 34–49) of 164 placebo injections. At 28 days after the second dose, MERS-CoV neutralising antibodies were highest for participants assigned to 56-day 108 PFU, with geometric mean ratios of 7·2 (95% CI 3·9–13·3) for the 56-day 108 PFU group versus the 28-day 108 PFU group (p<0·0001), 3·9 (2·1–7·2) for the 56-day 108 PFU group versus the 56-day 107 PFU group (p=0·0031), and 5·4 (2·9–10·0) for the 56-day 108 PFU group versus the 28-day 107 PFU group (p=0·0003).
Interpretation
MVA-MERS-S was safe and immunogenic in individuals with previous and concurrent SARS-CoV-2 exposure. The second vaccination with the 108 PFU dose of MVA-MERS-S elicited a stronger humoral immune response when administered 56 days after the first dose than a 28-day interval. Further studies are needed to verify these findings in groups at risk for MERS-CoV exposure, and at risk of severe disease, including older individuals and those with relevant comorbidities.
____
Source: World Health Organization (WHO), Disease Outbreak News, https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2024-DON536
{Excerpt}
Description of the situation
On 5 September 2024, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of one case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
The case, a man aged between 50-55 years residing in the Eastern Region of KSA, developed a fever, cough, shortness of breath, and palpitations on 28 August 2024. He was admitted as a cardiac case to a local hospital on 31 August and transferred to a medical complex on 1 September. From there he was discharged at his request the same day, against medical advice.
A nasopharyngeal swab taken on 1 September and tested at the National Public Health Laboratory as part of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) sentinel surveillance, returned a positive result for MERS-CoV on 4 September through Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).
After the patient was discharged from the hospital and prior to receiving the laboratory results confirming MERS-CoV, he traveled to Pakistan on 2 September.
The patient is a non-healthcare worker with several co-morbidities. Following field investigation, there was no evidence of interaction with camels. In KSA, follow-up has been completed for one household member, 23 healthcare professionals, and two patients who had contact with the case, with no secondary cases reported. Among close contacts listed in KSA, one travelled from Saudi Arabia to South Asia on 4 September. Flight details and personal information were retrieved to initiate contact tracing and follow-up, and no secondary cases have been identified in connection with this high-risk contact.
Following the notification on 5 September 2024 from the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) of KSA to the Pakistan IHR NFP regarding the patient’s travel and positive MERS-CoV results, the patient was located in Pakistan, and the health authorities proceeded to transfer the patient to a public hospital for strict isolation and management of existing comorbidities.
A total of 41 nasopharyngeal samples, including repeat samples of the case and close contacts were collected and tested at the Pakistan National Institute for Health/National Reference Laboratory. The patient tested positive, albeit with a low viral load, while all contacts tested negative. Close contacts, including family members and healthcare workers were closely monitored for 14 days, and no secondary cases have been identified.
The patient was discharged on 13 September after receiving a negative test result for MERS-CoV, along with instructions to continue oral medication and to return for a follow-up appointment in five days. This follow-up was successfully completed on 19 September, confirming the patient’s full recovery.
Since the beginning of the year, a total of five cases including four deaths have been reported from KSA, and this is the first case reported since the last Disease Outbreak News was published on 8 May 2024.
(…)
_____
Contrasting roles of #MERS-CoV and #SARS-CoV-2 internal #proteins in #pathogenesis in mice, mBio: https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02476-23 #research #betacoronavirus #sarbecovirus #merbecovirus
Structural basis for translation #inhibition by #MERS-CoV Nsp1 reveals a conserved mechanism for #betacoronaviruses, Cell Rep.: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113156 #research #science #merbecovirus
#Isolation and genetic #characterization of #MERS-CoV from dromedary #camels in the #UAE, Front Vet Sci.: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1182165 #research #enzootic #zoonoses #betacoronavirus #merbecovirus
#IL13 induced #inflammation increases #DPP4 abundance but does not enhance #MERS-CoV #replication in #airway epithelia https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37698016/?utm_source=Feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=None&utm_content=1TK-00Bd3YG_J75ZOCfC6LyGWkLBDpQrYdxjS3Imr6VqqZDQLu&fc=None&ff=20230912100253&v=2.17.9.post6+86293ac #research #EIDs #coronavirus #merbecovirus
Middle East respiratory syndrome #coronavirus (#MERS-CoV) - #KSA: #WHO D.O.N.: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON484 #zoonoses #EIDs #betacoronavirus #merbecovirus #alert
''On 13 June, he was in #critical condition and referred to an intensive care unit (#ICU) at a specialized government tertiary hospital where he was put on mechanical #ventilation. He deteriorated and a nasopharyngeal swab was collected on 21 June and tested positive for MERS-CoV by PCR on 23 June 2023.'' #mers #coronavirus #betacoronavirus #merbecovirus #UAE #alert #surveillance
