A international research team is advancing work that proves the Middle Eastern dromedary camel, long used for transportation and hauling, also transports and transmits several strains of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

Researchers are examining the dromedary camel for the 229E coronavirus, known to comprise 1,300 cases, 500 of which have proven fatal to humans since 2012.

According to a report by Vaccine News Daily, scientists says the primary problem is bacterial evolution: the disease takes one form while carried by a camel, is transmitted to humans in contact with an infected camel, then assumes a new form once affecting a human carrier — leading to additional human-to-human transmission.