MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV Infections in Animals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prevalence Studies

Abstract

Introduction: Coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses that include human epidemic pathogens such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus (MERS-CoV), and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus (SARS-CoV), among others (e.g., COVID-19, the recently emerging coronavirus disease). The role of animals as potential reservoirs for such pathogens remains an unanswered question. No systematic reviews have been published on this topic to date. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review with meta-analysis, using three databases to assess MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV infection in animals and its diagnosis by serological and molecular tests. We performed a random-effects model meta-analysis to calculate the pooled prevalences and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results: 6,493articles were retrieved (1960-2019). After screening by abstract/title, 50articles were selected for full-text assessment. Of them, 42 were finally included for qualitative and quantitative analyses. From a total of 34 studies (n=20,896 animals), the pool prevalence by RT-PCR for MERS-CoV was 7.2% (95%CI 5.6-8.7%), with 97.3% occurring in camels, in which pool prevalence was 10.3% (95%CI 8.3-12.3). Qatar was the country with the highest MERS-CoV RT-PCR pool prevalence, 32.6% (95%CI 4.8-60.4%). From 5 studies and 2,618 animals, for SARS-CoV, the RT-PCR pool prevalence was 2.3% (95%CI 1.3-3.3). Of those, 38.35% were reported on bats, in which the pool prevalence was 14.1% (95%CI0.0-44.6%). Discussion: A considerable proportion of infected animals tested positive, particularly by nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT), an essential condition that highlights the relevance of individual animals as reservoirs of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. In this meta-analysis, camels and bats were found to be positive by RT-PCR in over 10% of the cases for both; thus, suggesting their relevance in the maintenance of wild zoonotic transmission.

Global patterns of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) prevalence and seroprevalence in camels: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…According to the meta-analysis, the global seroprevalence of MERS-CoV in DC is 77.4%, consistent with earlier research [ 19 ], which reported pooled seroprevalence of 73% and 83.9% by ELISA and Immunofluorescent antibody tests, respectively. The current study found that MERS-CoV prevalence and seroprevalence among the dromedaries of the Western Asia are higher than those of the rest of the world, which is supported by previous studies [ 14 ].…”

“…In the beginning, we studied the three previously published systematic reviews on MERS-CoV in camels [ 14 , 19 , 20 ] and listed the reviewed articles. Then systematic data searches were conducted on Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science on 18 April 2023 using the keywords: ((Camel OR Dromedary OR Bactrian OR Alpaca OR Llama OR Guanaco OR “Hybrid came”) AND (“Middle East respiratory syndrome” OR MERS OR “Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus” OR MERS-CoV)), without any timeframe of publication.…”

MERS-CoV: epidemiology, molecular dynamics, therapeutics, and future challenges

“…The MERS-CoV possesses the epidemic potential and continues to occur in the form of sporadic disease of humans, which remains on the Blueprint 2020 priority list of WHO, in addition to SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 [142] and other emerging and life-threatening pathogens. MERS-CoV infection poses a serious health risk not only in the KSA but across the continents due to its zoonotic community acquisition and rapid nosocomial transmission [143]. The MERS-CoV is reported to be highly endemic among camels from broad areas of Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.…”