SARS Coronavirus: Minireview

In 2002, an outbreak of respiratory illness emerged from China, later named as a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [1,2]. It was the first previously unknown pandemic transmissible disease of 21st century [3]. The disease spread quickly throughout the world (affecting 32 countries) with more than 8500 individuals infected and 900 dead (case fatality rate of 10%). It can be transmitted via respiratory droplets, direct contact or airborne processes [4]. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a virus belonging to the Betacoronavirus genus from family Coronaviridae [5]. Coronaviruses are closely related to influenza viruses and both SARS and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) are more lethal than other human coronaviruses [2]. SARS-CoV nucleocapsid has a helical symmetry; it is enveloped with a positive sense, non-segmented, capped and poly-adenylated RNA genome the size of 30 kb [2]. SARS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, it was transmitted to humans from its natural reservoir horseshoe bats (of the Rhinolophus genus) after still undefined mutations, possibly through intermediate hosts such as palm civets (Paguna larvata) from live animal market [3]. Since 2004, there were no new cases of SARS-CoV in humans, although a SARS-like coronavirus strain able to infect humans can still be found in Chinese bats (named as a SL-CoV-W1V1) [6]. It uses the human angiotensin converting enzyme II receptor to enter the cells, thus it does not require any mutations or intermediate hosts to infect human cells [7]. Moreover, the recent emergence of MERS in Middle East shows that coronaviruses are still a threat to worldwide population.

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