JEDDAH: Health Minister Khaled Al-Falih met with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh on Thursday to discuss the Health Ministry’s proposed ban on sacrificing camels during this year’s Haj.

Several health officials accompanied Al-Falih at the meeting with Al-Asheikh, who heads the Presidency for Scholastic Research and Religious Edicts and Council of Senior Scholars.

Abdullah Asiri, undersecretary for preventative health at the ministry, said: “Scholars requested further clarification on the matter during the meeting.” He said the ministry would prepare answers to their questions.

The ministry has proposed a ban on camel sacrifice because the animals are carriers of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

However, pilgrims who want to sacrifice camels during Haj can do so through organizations such as Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Al-Rajhi Bank because they would not have direct contact with the animals.

About 90 percent of camels in the Gulf region are carriers of MERS and the virus can be transmitted over a 1-meter distance, according to the ministry.

Asiri said that scientists have faced difficulties developing a vaccine because it requires trials on animals that show the same symptoms of the disease as humans. Camels have different immune systems and are unsuitable, he said.

However, he said researchers over the past few months have found genetically modified mice and small monkeys infected with the virus showing the same symptoms as humans. These animals are likely to be useful in producing new vaccines.

“To produce a vaccine against any virus, there must be points or locations on the virus that stimulate the immune system to produce special types of vaccines that can limit the activity of the virus and stop its reproduction within human cells,” said Asiri.

“This process is especially difficult with the coronavirus due to the nature of its structure and ability to avoid the immune system. There are four types of coronavirus that cause the flu, and although people have been affected by the virus repeatedly over the years, the immune system cannot protect against it,” he said.

“The good news is that research has taken a positive turn over the past few weeks after a university in the United States announced successful preliminary trials with a vaccine that stimulates the immune system in monkeys and camels.”