Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—paradigm of an emerging viral infection

Abstract

An acute and often severe respiratory illness emerged in southern China in late 2002 and rapidly spread to different areas of the Far East as well as several countries around the globe. When the outbreak of this apparently novel infectious disease termed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) came to an end in July 2003, it had caused over 8000 probable cases worldwide and more than 700 deaths. Starting in March 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) organised an unprecedented international effort by leading laboratories working together to find the causative agent. Little more than one week later, three research groups from this WHO-coordinated network simultaneously found evidence of a hitherto unknown coronavirus in SARS patients, using different approaches. After Koch's postulates had been fulfilled, WHO officially declared on 16 April 2003 that this virus never before seen in humans is the cause of SARS. Ever since, progress around SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has been swift. Within weeks of the first isolate being obtained, its complete genome was sequenced. Diagnostic tests based on the detection of SARS-CoV RNA were developed and made available freely and widely; nevertheless the SARS case definition still remains based on clinical and epidemiological criteria. The agent's environmental stability, methods suitable for inactivation and disinfection, and potential antiviral compounds have been studied, and development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics is ongoing. Despite its grave consequences in humanitarian, political and economic terms, SARS may serve as an example of how much can be achieved through a well-coordinated international approach, combining the latest technological advances of molecular virology with more "traditional" techniques carried out to an excellent standard.

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009: the experience of the first six months

“…Laboratory testing should be reserved for high-risk patients, unusual cases or those with severe or progressive illness, especially where it may influence clinical management, but initiation of antiviral therapy should never be delayed (55). As seen during the Severe Acure Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 (57), laboratory testing plays a modest role in patient management during outbreaks.…”

Rapid Detection of Viruses Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP): A Review

“…SARS is diagnosed by two major approaches: fi rst, detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV was a sensitive and specifi c diagnostic approach, but seroconversion can be detected only around after day 10 of illness (Peiris et al 2003a ). In contrast, PCR-based tests have been shown to be useful for early SARS diagnosis (Berger et al 2004 ). Quantitative PCR approaches are a powerful tool for identifying SARS-CoV early after disease onset (Drosten et al 2003 ;Poon et al 2003 ;Ng et al 2003 ;Grant et al 2003 ).…”

Studies on the Interaction of Lead(II) and Uranyl(II) with Methylcysteine and Penicillamine Bioactive Sulfur-Containing Ligands

“…In the present electrophoretic study, the transformation of a simple complex into a mixed complex takes place, and hence, the overall mobility U of the complex is given by (6) where u 0 and u 1 are the mobilities of the metal(II)-methylcysteine and metal(II)-methylcysteine-penicillamine complexes, respectively.…”

“…Lead and uranyl metal ions are toxic, so removal from living system is necessary. Lead(II) and uranyl(II) are well known for some biomedical applications and toxicity [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”