Content of review 1, reviewed on July 31, 2018

Hemida et al.'s work on "Coronavirus infections in horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman" is a serious intent to detect crossing of known horse viruses geographically. The researchers' meticulous work both scientifically and clinically is highly commended because of the importance of the work to assess with evidence any appearances of horse viruses known in different continents in Saudi Arabia or Oman. Though the researchers found intra-species viral transmission evidence (horse-camel), but nothing serious. However, one sample was different, the one from Al Qassem whereby the horse does not have contact with other animals, though the question here is any of the persons working in the farm have been in contact with camels somewhere else, will this help transmit the virus to the horse?? The potential outcome is found in what the researchers conclude, "RT-PCR detection of ECoV and HKU23 in equine swabs confirms the circulation of these two viruses in horses in Saudi Arabia. Cocirculation of related viruses may provide potential for recombination, a potential means of generating genetic diversity and facilitating host jumps in coronaviruses. This is the first report of HKU23 being detected in horses and the first detection of ECoV in Asia outside of Japan." Another question that arises from the aforementioned conclusion is how serious a recombination may be and will the infection move back to other animals like camels?

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    © 2018 the Reviewer (CC BY 4.0).