Scientists have gotten close to pinning down the origin of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a dangerous respiratory disease that emerged in Saudi Arabia 17 months ago.

It turns out the MERS virus has been circulating in Arabian camels for more than two decades, scientists report in a study published Tuesday

So far MERS has sickened more than 180 people, killing at least 77 of them — an alarming 43 percent. But scientists haven't been sure where the virus came from or how people catch it.

A report in the journal mBIO suggests the virus is ubiquitous among Saudi Arabian dromedary camels, the one-humped variety. The animals get the virus when they're young, and it often doesn't make them sick.

"We now know the answers to several questions," says the report's senior author, Ian Lipkin of Columbia University. "First, this virus infection is very common in camels. It probably occurs early in these camels. So this is a reservoir that is constantly replenishing itself. It can go directly from camels to humans, with no need for adaptation in another animal. And there's a lot of virus."

"This really confirms that this is a camel virus," says virologist Marion Koopmans of Erasmus University, who wasn't involved in the study.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/...-arabian-camels

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U-u-u-u-h-h-h-h, well then, the next question is, who's to blame? And the question TM has is, so what's the problem?