Molecular advances in the cell biology of SARS-CoV and current disease prevention strategies

Stark, Caren J; Atreya, CD

Following reports of the last case of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in July 2003, there has been remarkable progress in several areas of research on the molecular identification of the pathogen and its pathogenesis, replication, genetics, and host immunogenicity, as well as elegant epidemiological studies. The sequence of epidemiological events that unfolded early in the outbreak gave researchers a glimpse into the first new pathogen of the era of globalization. As the year 2002 drew to a close, multiple reports of an "infectious atypical pneumonia" caught public health officials across the globe by surprise and suggested that a new human pathogen had emerged in the Guangdong Province in China [1] . By the end of February 2003, this outbreak of SARS had infected almost 800 patients and caused 31 deaths in the Province [2] . One month later, the disease had spread throughout Asia and into Europe and North America. This epidemic eventually affected more than 8000 people and resulted in approximately 800 deaths worldwide, with mortality rates reaching over 40% in certain populations [3, 4] .