MERS virus isolated from bat; other animal may be involved in spread

Scientists from Saudi Arabia and the United States have found the MERS coronavirus in a bat in Saudi Arabia.

The scientists are reporting the finding in a paper published online today.

While bats have been suspected to be the reservoir of the new virus, this is the first time a match for the human virus has been found in an animal.

Still, the authors of the paper note that some other animal or animals may be acting as a bridge, transmitting the bat virus to people in some way.

Other scientists recently reported finding antibodies to the MERS virus in camels in Oman and in the Canary Islands, off North Africa.

To date there have been 96 confirmed cases of MERS and 46 of those infections have ended in death.

The virus discovered in the bat is an identical match to the human virus, says the paper, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The virus was found in a bat of the Taphozous perforatus species.

The finding was reported by scientists from the Saudi Ministry of Health, Columbia University and the organization EcoHealth Alliance.