According to a new study, a certain vaccine specifically used for MERS was found out to be effective in camels.
The research which was conducted by the German scientists suggest that a vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is proven to be valuable for camels which in effect, will offer some benefits for humans too.
As what the scientists have stated, the said vaccine can lessen the amount of virus found in camels infected with MERS. With the said outcome, researchers were hopeful that it can also be applied to humans in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
The study was performed by testing the vaccine to camels infected by MERS. The said antivirus, also called as MVA-MERS and MERS-CoV spike protein were tested to the camels on a regular basis in order to examine its efficacy.
The group specifically vaccinated eight camels with the use of intramuscular and nasal routes. Half of the subjects received a MVA-MERS-S while the other half received a version that don't have the MERS-CoV spike protein.
After 4 weeks, the camels then underwent a booster shot. The result of the experiment showed that those vaccinated camels had the symptoms lessened with significantly lower levels of virus compared with those untreated camels.
The scientists chose camels as their testing animals because it was proven that these animals have the most chance of having MERS among other animals in the Middle East.
In another related study, a Chinese microbiologist explained the potential of MERS to be infected into camels.
"Winter is the peak season for corona virus infections in camels. There should be policies to avoid direct contact with camels, especially their oral and nasal tracts," said by the scientist.
The German scientists admitted that they're still not sure if the vaccine will also be applicable to humans. According to them, various clinical trials should be conducted in order to ensure its efficacy.
