Scientists from the Central Research Veterinary Laboratory (CIVL) in Dubai introduced camels to the killed SARS-CoV-2 virus as part of a study on the spread of coronavirus among animals, according to the local newspaper “National”.
Researchers hope to create miniature antibodies against the coronavirus that can be used to treat seriously ill people.
“We recently immunized camels with a dead virus, and they produced antibodies against COVID-19,” said Ulrich Werner, a veterinary microbiologist. “Camels are actually the best producers of antibodies in the animal world because they have the best immunity. From this point of view, they are ideal candidates for the current study,” he added.
CIVL experts have developed a test system that can detect the presence of antibodies against COVID-19 in animals. With the help of these tests, they plan to study the peculiarities of the spread of coronavirus among animals. More than 500 blood samples from 18 different animal species were collected and taken from the study. The study will begin next week and last about two weeks.