Suchergebnisse

The camel is a strange animal for various reasons. Historically, it was mainly used for transportation activities. The presence of this animal in the Indian subcontinent is not very ancient as suggested by few researchers. Throughout the medieval centuries, it was mainly used for transportation, travelling and military purposes. Camel troopers were an essential unit of the postal departments. Many kings and emperors had special affection and association with camels. The engagements of camels in the military units were very popular as evident through the Shutur-khanas of various medieval states. Participating in various military campaigns under the banner of united jack, the Bikaner Camel Corps—Ganga Risala—earned international fame. In the desert of Thar, camels are revered for their social and economic value that was maintainable with minimum efforts. A vibrant culture evolved around the animal due to its economic significance and utility. It is evident that with the introduction of the new modes of transport and warfare, this animal has lost the significant position attained in the history. The engagement of camels in alternate professions for earning livelihood has taken a heavy toll on the species. So much so that now it appears in the list of endangered species.

Background: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe lower respiratory tract infection in people. Previous studies suggested dromedary camels were a reservoir for this virus. We tested for the presence of MERS-CoV in dromedary camels from a farm in Qatar linked to two human cases of the infection in October, 2013. Methods: We took nose swabs, rectal swabs, and blood samples from all camels on the Qatari farm. We tested swabs with RT-PCR, with amplification targeting the E gene (upE), nucleocapsid (N) gene, and open reading frame (ORF) 1a. PCR positive samples were tested by different MERS-CoV specific PCRs and obtained sequences were used for phylogentic analysis together with sequences from the linked human cases and other human cases. We tested serum samples from the camels for IgG immunofluorescence assay, protein microarray, and virus neutralisation assay. Findings: We obtained samples from 14 camels on Oct 17, 2013. We detected MERS-CoV in nose swabs from three camels by three independent RT-PCRs and sequencing. The nucleotide sequence of an ORF1a fragment (940 nucleotides) and a 4·2 kb concatenated fragment were very similar to the MERS-CoV from two human cases on the same farm and a MERS-CoV isolate from Hafr-Al-Batin. Eight additional camel nose swabs were positive on one or more RT-PCRs, but could not be confirmed by sequencing. All camels had MERS-CoV spike-binding antibodies that correlated well with the presence of neutralising antibodies to MERS-CoV. Interpretation: Our study provides virological confirmation of MERS-CoV in camels and suggests a recent outbreak affecting both human beings and camels. We cannot conclude whether the people on the farm were infected by the camels or vice versa, or if a third source was responsible. Funding: European Union projects EMPERIE (contract number 223498), ANTIGONE (contract number 278976), and the VIRGO consortium.

A total of 1346 hard ticks (863♂ and 483 ♀) infested 104 camels, 60 alive camels with 93.33% infestation rate and 44 carcasses of camels had 79.54% infestation rate The total infestation rate was 87.5 %.
The current study results revealed ten species of hard ticks family Ixodidae Koch, 1844 related to genus Hyalomma as following: H. dromedarii Koch, 1844, H. schulzii Morel, 1969, H. turanicum Pomerantsev, 1946, H. excavatum Koch, 1844, H. truncatum Koch, 1844, H. scupense Schulzii, 1919, H. marginatum Koch, 1844, H. anatolicum Koch, 1844, H. rufipes Koch, 1844, H. impeltatum Schulze & Schlottke, 1930 from camel Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758 collected from 21 regions belonging to six provinces in middle, west and south of Iraq where camels were bred in abundance. According to the current results, camels are considered a new host for three species of genus Hyalomma: H. truncatum, H. marginatum rufipes. These results may be of more importance as being the available data for risk topic about camels infested with hard ticks.

Over the past several decades, the People's Republic of China's engagement with African countries has grown tremendously. China has emerged as Africa's largest trading partner, while Chinese investment in and lending to African countries has grown rapidly. In Eritrea, a young, developing country located in the Horn of Africa, Chinese involvement has also considerably increased in recent years. However, although there has been extensive study of China's partnerships across the continent, very little work has been dedicated to examining its ties with Eritrea. What are the history and current scale of involvement? What has been the impact of this engagement on Eritrean society? What are locals' overall perceptions about the relationship or about China more generally? Utilizing a mix of qualitative research methods, including surveys, the current paper explores China's engagement with Eritrea, adding to the voluminous, ever-growing body of literature and helping to diversify and deepen understanding of this important topic. Additionally, although various narratives about the China-Africa relationship have arisen, often led and framed by non-Africans, the present study broadens the discussion by offering local, African perspectives on China-Africa links. Engagement and cooperation between China and Eritrea are longstanding and extend to numerous areas, driven by a range of interests, while local perceptions are quite nuanced and largely consistent with many cross-national studies.