Pitt scientists collaborate in effort to combat the deadly MERS virus

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is leading an international team of scientists working on a vaccine to immunize camels, which are believed to be infecting humans with a contagious and deadly virus spreading through the Middle East. Details of the researchers’ work in immunizing against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome will appear in the upcoming issue of the journal Vaccine. Senior author Andrea Gambotto, an associate professor in Pitt’s Department of Surgery, said MERS poses an emerging threat worldwide because some people infected in several Middle Eastern countries have unwittingly brought the virus to the U.S. and other countries via air travel. Immunizing camels, an important animal in the Mideast for their use as transportation and a food source, is seen as the way to stave off the spread of the virus. There have been 837 cases of MERS confirmed to date, including 291 deaths. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of...