Egypt stops import of 3,500 camels from Sudan over Coronavirus

CAIRO - 2 April 2017: A shipment of 3,500 camels from Sudan were stopped from entering Abu Simbel quarry in southern Egypt after some tested positive for Coronavirus (MERS-CoV),

Youm7 reported

Sunday, quoting a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.

A random test carried out on a shipment of thousands of camels imported from Sudan showed 69 of them were infected with MERS-CoV.

The Central Administration of Veterinary Quarantine isolated the infected camels, which will be examined after 30 days to decide whether Egypt will allow in the shipment.

A Rift Valley Fever test was carried out on a sample of the camels and the results were negative.

Coronavirus infects the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds; the disease has a number of strains that infect humans, like the SARS-COV.

Earlier this month, Sudan expanded a decision introduced in 2016 banning the importation of certain products from Egypt over safety and public health concerns, according to

Reuters

. Among the products Sudan banned from importation are canned fish, jam, sauces and ketchup.