title: Severe acute respiratory syndrome and coronavirus.
abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly infectious disease with a significant morbidity and mortality. Respiratory failure is the major complication, and patients may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Health care workers are particularly vulnerable to SARS. SARS has the potential of being converted from droplet to airborne transmission. There is currently no proven effective treatment of SARS, so early recognition, isolation, and stringent infection control are the key to controlling this highly contagious disease. Horseshoe bats are implicated in the emergence of novel coronavirus infection in humans. Further studies are needed to examine host genetic markers that may predict clinical outcome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Medicine, Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China. dschui@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: David S C
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Paul K S
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007155:Immunologic Factors