SARS-related Virus Predating SARS Outbreak, Hong Kong
SARS, SARS-related virus, previous exposure, serologic study, dispatch, Hong Kong
Using immunofluorescence and neutralization assays, we detected antibodies to human severe acute respiratory syndrome–associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and/or animal SARS-CoV–like virus in 17 (1.8%) of 938 adults recruited in 2001. This finding suggests that a small proportion of healthy persons in Hong Kong had been exposed to SARS-related viruses at least 2 years before the recent SARS outbreak.
Bo-Jian Zheng, Yi Guan, Ka Hing Wong, Jie Zhou, Kin Ling Wong, Betty Wan Y. Young, Liwei Lu, Shui Shan Lee
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Infectious and parasitic diseases, Medicine