Fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome is associated with multiorgan involvement by coronavirus.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is characterized by pulmonary compromise; however, patients often have evidence of other organ dysfunction that may reflect extrapulmonary dissemination of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). We report on the distribution and viral load of SARS-CoV in multiple organ samples from patients who died of SARS during the Toronto outbreak. SARS-CoV was detected in lung (100%), bowel (73%), liver (41%), and kidney (38%) in 19 patients who died of SARS, with the highest viral loads observed in lung (1.0 x 10(10) copies/g) and bowel (2.7 x 10(9) copies/g). Fatal SARS was associated with multiorgan viral dissemination in a distribution that has implications for disease manifestation, viral shedding, and transmission.
Farcas
Gabriella A
GA
McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global Health, McLaughlin Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada.
Poutanen
Susan M
SM
Mazzulli
Tony
T
Willey
Barbara M
BM
Butany
Jagdish
J
Asa
Sylvia L
SL
Faure
Peter
P
Akhavan
Poolak
P
Low
Donald E
DE
Kain
Kevin C
KC
D017934:Coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000821:virology; D008168:Lung / Q000821:virology; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000401:mortality* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D019562:Viral Load