Identification of factors influencing zoonotic transmission of MERS-Coronavirus in Kenya

中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒（MERS-CoV）于2012年在沙特阿拉伯出现，并与一种危及生命的非典型人类肺炎有关。中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒引起严重的人类发病率和死亡率，是流行和大流行关注的焦点。单峰驼是人类感染中东呼吸综合征的可能来源。尽管中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒在非洲单峰骆驼中具有广泛的时间和地理分布，但在肯尼亚，从单峰骆驼向人类的人畜共患传播似乎有限。关于该病原体及其传播仍有许多未知之处，应投入更多资源，增加其发病地理区域的当地知识和专门知识。我们的项目将扩大肯尼亚的诊断和实验室基础设施，培训多学科国际专家，确定疫情热点，并开发迫切需要的计算机和体外风险评估工具。这一互补目标的结合将极大地促进特别是中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒的防治，并将成为全世界防治其他新出现病原体的典范。

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and is associated with an atypical life-threatening form of pneumonia in humans.MERS-CoV causes severe human morbidity and mortality and is the focus of epidemic and pandemic concern. Dromedaries are the likely source for human MERS infections. Although MERS-CoV has a broad temporal and geographical distribution in African dromedaries, zoonotic transmission from dromedaries to humans seems to be limited in Kenya.Much remains unknown regarding the pathogen and its transmission, and more resources should be devoted to increasing local knowledge and expertise in the geographic regions of its incidence. Our project will expand diagnostic and laboratory infrastructures in Kenya, train multidisciplinary international experts, identify outbreak hotspots, and develop urgently needed in silico and in vitro risk assessment tools. This combination of complementary aims will greatly facilitate the fight against MERS-CoV in particular, and will serve as a model for the fight against other emerging pathogens worldwide.