title: Lack of nasal carriage of novel corona virus (HCoV-EMC) in French Hajj pilgrims returning from the Hajj 2012, despite a high rate of respiratory symptoms.
abstract: A cohort of 154 French Hajj pilgrims participating in the 2012 Hajj were systematically sampled with nasal swabs prior to returning to France, and screened for the novel HCoV-EMC coronavirus by two real-time RT-PCR assays. Despite a high rate of respiratory symptoms (83.4%), including 41.0% influenza-like illness, no case of HCoV-EMC infection was detected. Despite the fact that zoonotic transmission was suspected in the first few cases, a recent family cluster in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suggests that the virus might show at least limited spread from person to person, which justifies continuing epidemiological surveillance.
authors: IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, Marseille, France. philippe.gautret@club-internet.fr
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Gautret
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Charrel
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Belhouchat
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Drali
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Benkouiten
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Nougairede
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Zandotti
authors: Z A
authors: ZA
authors: Memish
authors: M
authors: M
authors: al Masri
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Gaillard
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Brouqui
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Parola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State / Q000821:virology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D003441:Crowding; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000821:virology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014195:Travel; D055815:Young Adult