Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39861917›Full record

ArticleViruses2025

Low-Level Zoonotic Transmission of Clade C MERS-CoV in Africa: Insights from Scoping Review and Cohort Studies in Hospital and Community Settings.

Andrew Karani, Cynthia Ombok, Silvia Situma, Robert Breiman, Marianne Mureithi, Walter Jaoko, M Kariuki Njenga, Isaac Ngere

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Viruses, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Andrew KaraniGlobal Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.
Cynthia OmbokGlobal Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.ORCID 0009-0008-5929-8784
Silvia SitumaGlobal Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0002-9257-4647
Robert BreimanRollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Marianne MureithiDepartment of Medical Microbiology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0001-9119-3167
Walter JaokoDepartment of Medical Microbiology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.
M Kariuki NjengaGlobal Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.
Isaac NgereGlobal Health Program, Washington State University Global Health-Kenya, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.

Funding

Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Center - East and Central AfricaU01AI151799 · NIAID · WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY · PI M KARIUKI NJENGA · 2020 to 2026
$10.4M
Zoonotic and Emerging Infectious Diseases Training ProgramD43TW011519 · FIC · WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Walter Godfrey Jaoko, Thumbi Mwangi · 2020 to 2026
$1.2M
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW011519National Institutes of Health through the Centre for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases-East and Central Africa (CREID-ECA) U01AI151799NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI151799NIH/Fogarty International Center's D43 training grant D43TW011519
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are more common in Middle Eastern and Asian human populations, associated with clades A and B. In Africa, where clade C is dominant in camels, human cases are minimal. We reviewed 16 studies (n = 6198) published across seven African countries between 2012 and 2024 to assess human MERS-CoV cases. We also analyzed data from four cohort studies conducted in camel-keeping communities between 2018 and 2024 involving camel keepers, camel slaughterhouse workers, and hospital patients with acute respiratory illness (ARI). The analysis showed a pooled MERS-CoV prevalence of 2.4% (IQR: 0.6, 11.4) from 16 publications and 1.14% from 4 cohort studies (n = 2353). Symptomatic cases were rarely reported, with most individuals reporting camel contact, and only 12% had travel history to the Middle East. There was one travel-associated reported death, resulting in a mortality rate of 0.013%. The findings suggest a low camel-to-human transmission of clade C MERS-CoV in Africa. Ongoing research focuses on genomic comparisons between clade C and the more virulent clades A and B, alongside the surveillance of viral evolution. This study highlights the need for continuous monitoring but indicates that MERS-CoV clade C currently poses a minimal public health threat in Africa.

Indexed as

Coronavirus InfectionsMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronavirusZoonosesAfricaAnimalsCamelusCohort StudiesDisease OutbreaksHospitalsHumansPhylogenyPrevalencecamelcladesepidemiologyinfectionsMERS-CoVprevalenceserologysymptomstransmissionzoonotic

Identifiers

PMID39861917
PMCPMC11768526

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.