Molecular Detection
RNA was extracted from the nasal swabs or culture
supernatants with the use of the QIAamp
Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen), according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. Eluted RNA was
screened for the MERS-CoV upstream region of
the E gene (upE region) and confirmed by targeting
the open reading frame region ORF1a
and ORF1b with the use of real-time RT-PCR,
as described previously. Further confirmation
was performed by partially sequencing the RNA-dependent
RNA polymerase (RdRp) and nucleocapsid
(N) regions of the viral genome, as recommended
by the World Health Organization. Both assays were conducted on the original
samples collected from the patient and from
Camel B. (Details regarding the RT-PCR assay
and sequencing are provided in the Supplementary
Appendix.)