Camels have been confirmed to be "reservoirs" of the MERS virus and can subsequently infect humans, a new study says.

The hump-backed animals have long been suspected as a source of the MERS virus but studies have shown weak evidence to support this, until now, according to Ian Jones, a professor of virology in Britain.

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Likewise, Dr. William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said that the new study proves "without a doubt" that the infection can be passed from animal to human.

Last November, a 44 year old man had been admitted to King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia after experiencing acute shortness of breath. Based on reports, the man had topically applied medicine on the nose of one of his camels that appeared to be sick and had a runny nose.

The study, which was published in the June 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was able to confirm dromedary camels as one of the sources of the MERS infection and that it could be transmitted to humans.

Blood and nasal samples collected from the man and his camels showed that the man and sick camel had identical strains of the virus, suggesting that the virus was transmitted directly from the animal to the man, according to Live Science.

The man was also found to have increased levels of antibodies in his blood about 2 weeks after he was admitted to the hospital, an indication that his body was fighting against the virus.

Blood samples collected from the camels revealed that a number of camels' blood contained antibodies, leading scientists to conclude that those camels had already been infected in the past. In fact, a separate study conducted a few months ago found that 74 percent of dromedary (one hump) camels had antibodies against the MERS virus, and that infection generally occurs during the animal's early life.

Moreover, camels don't die from the MERS virus, Dr. Tariq Madani of King Abdulaziz University said.

Initial cases of the MERS virus were first reported in June 2012 in the Middle East and has spread to other continents such as in Europe and Asia, Bloomberg learned.

Despite this confirmation, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered, scientists pointed out. Schaffner said that it is still unclear how the infection is transmitted to people and if there are other sources of the virus.

In Saudi Arabia, preliminary blood testing of bats indicates the presence of a virus similar to MERS, according to the CDC.

TagsInfection, WHO, MERS Virus, MERS Virus Update, Mers Case, Mers Update, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS-CoV, MERS patient, Camels, Disease, SARS, William Schaffner, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Tariq Madani, CDC, bats, MERS corona virus