The Common Cold Came From … a Camel?
New research suggests that the first human to ever catch a cold may have gotten it from his or her camel. Scientists at the University of Bonn stumbled upon the discovery while investigating Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
A more aggressive and deadly virus than the common cold, MERS first appeared in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Although camels most often carry MERS, it can spread to humans in rare cases. And when studying the virus, researchers found that it was incredibly similar to the cold virus in at least 6% of cases. [1]
