Scientists will soon be testing cats and dogs to further understand the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or Mers. 

Mers was discovered in 2012 and was reported to have killed 200 people worldwide. The first reported case of the virus was found in a patient from Bishah in Saudi Arabia. 

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Since then, reports said that almost 600 cases of infection have spread throughout the world. Of those infected, 30 percent of the patients died from the illness. 

Scientists and researchers said that although the Mers virus has been found in camels, it is possible that it could also be found in other animal species. 

In a BBC report, one expert said that research will soon turn its eyes to other animals that could also serve as carriers of the virus, especially those that have regular contact with people. 

The number of people infected by the Mers virus is slowly rising and as a response, scientists will conduct tests on common animals found in the Middle East to see how much exposed these animals are. 

A group of Dutch researchers found the first antibodies against Mers. The antibodies found, according to the researchers, are like footprints that allowed them to determine if the virus had once passed through the animals. The researchers used the blood samples of Camels that are found in the Canary Islands. 

In a recent study published by the American Society for Microbiology, it showed that the virus spreading among humans cannot be distinguished from those found in camels with the virus. 

The study argued that if humans are truly infected only with Mers, then scientists must entertain the possibility of interspecies transmission of the virus. 

Dr. Thomas Briese, lead author of the report from Columbia University, believes that the Mers virus still remains a mystery. 

For Briese, he wants to go deeper into the issue of 'sole route infection' arguing that if camels are the only known carriers of the virus, how come the disease is not prevalent in people who have close contact with these animals.

TagsMERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Study, Cats, Dogs, American Society for Microbiology