The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002 and 2003 occurred as a result of zoonotic transmission. Coronavirus (CoV) found in naturally infected palm civet (civet-CoV) represents the closest genetic relative to SARS-CoV, but the degree and the determinants of cross-neutralization among these viruses remain to be investigated. Studies indicate that the receptor binding domain ...

The new severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV), described in February 2003, infected a total of 8,439 people. A total of 812 people died due to respiratory insufficiency. Close contact with symptomatic patients appeared to be the main route of transmission. However, potential transmission by blood transfusion could not be definitely excluded. Two real-time SARS-specific PCR ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review compares the clinical features, laboratory aspects and treatment options of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). RECENT FINDINGS Bats are the natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses (CoVs) and are likely the reservoir of MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Although a small number of camels have been found to hav...

Hundreds of million people worldwide have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and the rate of global death from SARS has remarkably increased. Hence, the development of efficient drug treatments for the biological effects of SARS is highly needed. We have previously shown that quantum dots (QDs)-conjugated RNA oligonucleotide is sensitive to the specific recognition of ...

The main proteinase of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) plays an important role in viral transcription and replication, and is an attractive target for anti-SARS drug development. The important thing is to understand its binding mechanism with possible ligands. In this study, we investigated possible noncanonical interactions, potential inhibitors, and binding pockets in the main proteina...

Four cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that occurred from December 16, 2003, to January 8, 2004, in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, were investigated. Clinical specimens collected from these patients were tested by provincial and national laboratories in China as well as members of the World Health Organization SARS Reference and Verification Laboratory Network...

Asian bats have been identified as potential reservoir hosts of coronaviruses associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). We detected antibody reactive with SARS-CoV antigen in 47 (6.7%) of 705 bat serum specimens comprising 26 species collected in Africa; thus, African bats may harbor agents related to putative group 4 CoV.

Movements of viruses from animals to humans underlie outbreaks of diseases, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, influenza, and Middle East respiratory syndrome. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus pandemic of 2003 was caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV) that originated in Chinese horseshoe bats (1). Results of sequence analyses have shown that viruses related to SARS-CoV continue to...

Taiwan experienced a series of outbreaks of nosocomial severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infections in 2003. Two months after the final outbreak, we recruited 658 employees from the hospital that suffered the first and most severe SARS infections to help us investigate epidemiological and genetic factors associated with the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS-CoV infections were detected b...

UNLABELLED Although many severe acute respiratory syndrome-like coronaviruses (SARS-like CoVs) have been identified in bats in China, Europe, and Africa, most have a genetic organization significantly distinct from human/civet SARS CoVs in the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which mediates receptor binding and determines the host spectrum, resulting in their failure to cause human infections and...