An effective vaccine to protect against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a step closer, a report in the journal Science has suggested. European scientists genetically modified a version of the smallpox vaccine to display coronavirus protein on its surface. The vaccine was able to protect camels — the animal reservoir for the virus — from developing MERS symptoms. Experts hope the vaccine might stop the virus spreading in camels and may also protect humans at risk from infection. "This study is an important step forward in the research and development of countermeasures for MERS-CoV," Kayvon Modjarrad, an infectious disease specialist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Bethesda, Maryland, who was not involved in the study, wrote in an email to The Scientist. Coronavirus infection of humans was first found in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since then there have been more than 1,600 reported cases. More than a third of reported infections have resulted in death. Individuals with other illnesses — such as diabetes, long term lung disease or kidney failure — are particularly prone to developing life-threatening symptoms. Infections have been reported in 26 countries around the world with the outbreak epicenter located in the Arabian Peninsula. There are no treatments for MERS but scientists are trying to develop an effective vaccine. One such scientist is Prof Bart Haagmans, who is based at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. He has been busy developing and testing vaccines in camels. Dromedary camels, which are bred and raised for their milk and meat and for racing, are thought to be the initial source of human outbreaks.
