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Article: Coronavirus antibodies in African bat species.(DISPATCHES)(Clinical report)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- September 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Asian bats have been identified as potential reservoir hosts of coronaviruses associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). We detected antibody reactive with SARS-CoV antigen in 47 (6.7%) of 705 bat serum specimens comprising 26 species collected in Africa; thus, African bats may harbor agents related to putative group 4 CoV.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged as a newly recognized human disease in the People's Republic of China late in 2002 and spread globally, causing 8,422 infections with 916 (11%) deaths before it was brought under control in 2003 (1). The causative agent was identified as a coronavirus ...