The deadly coronavirus behind Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) has been isolated in a bat in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The virus was found in the feces of an Egyptian tomb bat, or Taphozous perforatus, a creature known to roost in abandoned buildings.

 

MERS-CoV has sickened 135 people, 58 fatally, since its emergence in June 2012. Those statistics, current as of September 19 according to FluTrackers, exclude retrospectively positive cases from the first known MERS-CoV outbreak in Jordan.

 

All primary cases have been traced to the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Dr. Jonathan H. Epstein, a veterinarian with the EcoHealth Alliance, said that since these insect-eating bats do not normally bite people, infection likely occurs when victims are exposed to dried bat guano. It’s also probable that the virus spreads from bats to other animals before it reaches humans.

 

Research published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases suggested that the linking animal could be the dromedary camel (camels in Oman, Egypt and the Canary Islands possess antibodies to a similar virus). Tests on sheep, goats and cows are ongoing.