MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus) antibodies were detected in camels since 1983, but the first human case was only detected in 2012. This study sought to identify and quantify possible drivers for the MERS-CoV emergence and spillover to humans. A list of potential human, animal and environmental drivers for disease emergence were identified from literature. Trends in possible drivers were analyzed from national and international databases, and through structured interviews with experts in Qatar. The discovery and exploitation of oil and gas led to a 5-fold increase in Qatar GDP coupled with a 7-fold population growth in the past 30 years. The lifestyle gradually transformed from Bedouin life to urban sedentary life, along with a sharp increase in obesity and other comorbidities. Owing to substantial governmental support, camel husbandry and competitions flourished, exacerbating the already rapidly occurring desertification that forced banning of free grazing in 2005. Consequently, camels were housed in compact barns alongside their workers. The transition in husbandry leading to high density camel farming along with increased exposure to humans, combined with the increase of camel movement for the racing and breeding industry, have led to a convergence of factors driving spillover of MERS-CoV from camels to humans.

A ten week feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding total mixed rations containing different levels of cactus on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Awassi sheep. Twelve lambs with initial body weight of 28.67±2.29 kg and 120 days average age were distributed in complete randomized design into three dietary groups according to crushed cactus level (T1 = 0%, T2 = 10%, and T3 = 15%) in four replicates. At the end of the feeding period three lambs from each dietary group were randomly slaughtered to determine the carcass characteristics and meat quality. The means of the tested parameters were tested for significance using analysis of variance followed by least significant differences at 95% confidence level. Lambs fed T3 diet showed numerically higher (P > 0.05) total weight gain (15.3 kg) and average daily gain (219.1 g). T2 group had numerically higher (P > 0.05) hind quarter perimeter (D), maximum width carcass (Wr), chest depth (Th), and pelvic limb length (F) than T1 and T3. Left half carcass weight (10.5 kg), anterior rib (8.3%), pelvic limb (36.3%), and first quality (66.4%) were numerically higher (P > 0.05) in T2. Results of meat quality presented numerically higher (P > 0.05) water holding capacity (23.7) and lower cooking loss percent (30.6%) in T3, these results were reflected on sensory evaluation as well where T3 recorded significantly higher (P < 0.05) scores in texture and flavor of meat. Therefore, adding crushed cactus up to 15% level in diet of sheep could affect the carcass characteristics and meat quality differently.

Coxiella burnetii is a zoonotic, obligate intracellular Gram‐negative bacterium that poses significant public and veterinary health challenges. This review aimed to assess the One Health burden of C. burnetii in the Arabian Peninsula by estimating the pooled prevalence and associated risk factors of the disease to guide control at the human–animal–environment interface. Following PRISMA guidelines and registration in OSF, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in the Arabic Collection Site, EBSCOhost, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of 320 articles were gathered, from where 64 articles were selected for the review. C. burnetii was reported in humans (28 studies), livestock (51), dogs (2), wildlife (3), and other samples (6). Human seroprevalence was estimated at 20.3%, with most cases attributed to exposure to ruminants. Among domestic ruminants, the pooled seroprevalence was 40.7%, highest in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA; 72.2%), followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE; 31.1%), and Iraq (19.5%). Large ruminants infested with ticks had a significantly higher seroprevalence (74.0%) compared to those without infestation (25.1%). Overall, 17.9% of samples tested from ruminants were positive by PCR. The highest detection rate was observed in reproductive samples (73.5%), followed by feces (61.2%) and milk (32.3%). Meta‐regression revealed significant associations between prevalence and specific factors, including country, tick infestation, and sample type. The review also suggests that additional, unmeasured, or context‐specific factors may influence disease dynamics. The study highlights substantial knowledge gaps despite the zoonotic and economic importance of C. burnetii in the region. A coordinated One Health surveillance framework is urgently needed to better understand its distribution, transmission dynamics, and impact on human and animal health and productivity in the Arabian Peninsula.

The study aimed to examine the effect of feeding date palm with a product-based ration on the productivity of Awassi ewes raised intensively in the Qatari environment. The two matching total mixed rations consisted primarily of Rhodes and barely grains (CD), discarded dates, and crushed fronds (NCD). Forty-four Awassi ewes were divided into two matching groups. The groups were allocated randomly to the dietary treatments in a randomized block design experiment of 2 rams (mature fertile male sheep). Dates of service and lambing, ewes’ weights at conception and lambing, and lambs’ weights at birth and weaning (at 90 days of age) were registered. The type of diet had no effect on percentages of conceived and lambed ewes: gestation (150 ± 3.4 days), lambing interval periods (326 ± 17.4 days), litter size (117 ± 37.9 lambs/100 ewes), litter birth weight (3.9 ± 1.07 kg/lambing ewe), litter weaning weight (20.4 ± 5.83 kg/lambing ewe), weight of weaned lambs/ewe/year, weight of weaned lambs/kg of ewe weight/year, and weight of weaned lambs/kg0.75 of ewe weight/year. The NCD group had higher feed intakes (dry matter, DM, metabolizable energy, ME, and crude protein, CP) than the CD group. However, in terms of cost, NCD had a low cost of daily feed intake (1.88 vs. 2.42 riyals/ewe/day) and a cost of one kilogram of weaned lambs/ewe/year (30.8 vs. 43.2 riyals). It was concluded that feed based on date palm byproducts provided a performance not different from conventional feed but at a low feed cost.