Le « syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient » (MERS) : qui est responsable, les chauves-souris ou le dromadaire ?

In 2012 a new viral emergent human disease appeared in the Middle East. This entity was named MERS for’ Middle East respiratory syndrome’. By January 9, 2014, the disease had already struck 178 persons of whom 75 died from respiratory failure and diarrhoea. As the new disease was very similar to the deadly SARS (2002–2003) and since it was provoked by a Betacoronavirus, chiroptera were first suspected to be at the origin of this infection. Morever, recent studies performed in Saudi Arabia showed that one individual of the bat Taphozous perforatus harbored a short nucleotide segment identical to the homologous segment present in the viral strain isolated from the index-case of the epidemic. In addition, many strains of Betacoronavirus more or less related to those responsible for the MERS disease in man have been isolated from bats in Africa, Asia and Europe. However, another hypothesis was simultaneously proposed incriminating dromedary (Camelus dromedarius L.) as a likely actor in the transmission to human beings of the disease.We then reviewed data relative to other viral zoonosis in which dromedary was possibly implicated. This led to the provisional conclusion that this large mammal might play a role in the dissemination of the MERS-COV, the etiologic agent of the disease. This is based on epidemiological data and results of several serological surveys in animals.