Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first detected at the end of 2002 in the Guangdon province of China. Starting from march 2003 this new infection spread to several location in Asia (Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan), North America (Canada ad USA), Europe, Oceania, Middle East and South Africa. The peak of the epidemic was reached at the end of May 2003 when 30 Countries were involved. The identification of a new coronavirus (SCoV) as the etiological agent of SARS has evoked interest in the epidemiology of coronavirus infections in animals to find out the origin of the new pathogen. The prominent theory is that ScoV has reservoirs in animal species. Thus has been given credibility by the isolation of ScoV like coronaviruses from several species of wild animals in markets of Southern China. Furthermore rats were found to be responsible of the spread of infection I the Amoy Garden apartment complex in Hong Kong, where more than 300 human cases of SARS were identified. This review summarizes present knowledge on SCoV infection focusing on the epidemiology and zoonotic hypothesis with particular emphasis on the knowledge accumulated on the animal coronavirus infections.
SARS; epidemiologia, riserve animali del virus ed aspetti zoonosici
MAZZEI, MAURIZIO;TOLARI, FRANCESCO
2004-01-01
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first detected at the end of 2002 in the Guangdon province of China. Starting from march 2003 this new infection spread to several location in Asia (Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan), North America (Canada ad USA), Europe, Oceania, Middle East and South Africa. The peak of the epidemic was reached at the end of May 2003 when 30 Countries were involved. The identification of a new coronavirus (SCoV) as the etiological agent of SARS has evoked interest in the epidemiology of coronavirus infections in animals to find out the origin of the new pathogen. The prominent theory is that ScoV has reservoirs in animal species. Thus has been given credibility by the isolation of ScoV like coronaviruses from several species of wild animals in markets of Southern China. Furthermore rats were found to be responsible of the spread of infection I the Amoy Garden apartment complex in Hong Kong, where more than 300 human cases of SARS were identified. This review summarizes present knowledge on SCoV infection focusing on the epidemiology and zoonotic hypothesis with particular emphasis on the knowledge accumulated on the animal coronavirus infections.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
