ABSTRACT
Background: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted to humans from infected dromedary camels. Coordinated by The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Ethiopia and Kenya have ongoing MERS-CoV surveillance studies in camels. The 5-year project combines research and capacity development, with the aim to improve understanding of the epidemiology of the virus in camels and contribute to the global efforts to reduce zoonotic transmission of MERS-CoV. Key development outcomes of the project include important contributions to One Health operationalization in Ethiopia and Kenya. Methods: Since 2016, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have been implemented to address evolving objectives, including virus detection and prevalence estimates, identifying risk factors for exposure, understanding antibody kinetics, and phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics of circulating virus. Results: Results revealed that over 60% of camels from Kenya and over 70% of camels from Ethiopia demonstrate exposure to MERS-CoV, while viral RNA was detected in 0.23% of camels in Kenya and 1.08% of camels in Ethiopia. Viruses isolated from both countries were genetically grouped in Clade C2 with MERS-CoV strains found elsewhere in Africa. Phenotypic characteristics of these isolates suggest that MERS-CoV circulating in Africa poses a lower zoonotic risk than clades A and B of the virus circulating in the Arabian Peninsula. These findings have contributed to a better understanding of MERS-CoV transmission risks that will ultimately inform policy directions on risk mitigation. Conclusion: The project has contributed towards the establishment of multi-sectoral Emerging Pandemic Threats Technical Working Group (EPT-TWG) and MERSCoV TWG in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively. With the emergence of COVID-19, future directions of MERS-CoV work will focus on applied research of risk mitigation interventions, and institutional capacity building on surveillance for early detection of mutations and possible genetic recombination of MERS-CoV with other zoonotic coronaviruses.