SARS has now affected 30 countries in five continents, with more than 8400 cases and more than 910 deaths. A novel virus, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is known to be the causative agent. Despite this knowledge, seroprevalence studies and mass screening for detection of possible subclinical and non-pneumonic infections are still lacking.
Patrick Woo from the University of Hong Kong and colleagues examined the seroprevalence of non-pneumonic SARS-CoV in the general population, non-pneumonic patients in hospital, and health-care workers during the SARS epidemic. Their findings suggest that non-pneumonic infections are more common than SARS-CoV pneumonia, providing a possible explanation for cases of SARS-CoV pneumonia in patients who had no obvious contact with other patients with SARS.
Contact: Dr. Patrick CY Woo, Department of Microbiology,University of Hong Kong,Pathology Building.Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Hong Kong. T) 852-2855-4892; F) 852-2855-1241; E) pcywoo@hkucc.hku.hk .
The Lancet