作者honu (給我華麗外科口罩)
看板SARS
標題Re: [科景]研究SARS病毒中,令人既期待又怕受傷害的 …
時間Tue Jun 17 15:12:07 2003
這篇Nature的原文如下
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Nature 423, 576 (2003); doi:10.1038/423576b
Pet theory comes to the fore in fight against SARS
ALISON ABBOTT
The domestic cat is set to land a starring role in the future course of severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — although it isn't yet clear whether it
will be as saviour or scourge.
Experts have identified the cat as a potential animal model for SARS, but it
may also fit the bill as a reservoir species for the SARS virus, guilty of
bringing humans into contact with the disease.
Late last month, Chinese scientists revealed that several species of wild
animal on sale in the markets of southern China were harbouring a virus very
similar to that believed to cause SARS (see Nature 423, 467; 2003). It is
unclear whether these animals are a reservoir for the virus, or were infected
by another species. And experts are now wondering whether a domestic animal may
also be a reservoir species.
The only animal model available for SARS is the macaque monkey, which is
expensive to use. Attempts to infect mice with the SARS virus have so far
failed. But some pet cats in the Amoy Gardens apartment block in Hong Kong,
where more than 100 residents contracted SARS in April (see Nature 423, 3–4;
2003), were found to harbour the virus, and to get sick from it.
"The cat may offer an alternative," says Albert Osterhaus, a virologist at
Erasmus University in Rotterdam who developed the macaque model. Osterhaus has
applied for ethical authorization to begin systematic studies on cats. Other
laboratories, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta, Georgia, are also assessing the cat's potential as an animal model.
If cats prove to be susceptible to infection, they could be responsible for
bringing SARS into homes. The World Health Organization (WHO) is keen to define
all possible reservoirs among species that come into regular direct contact
with humans. It is establishing an international network of laboratories with
expertise in zoonotic diseases — infections that jump between species — to
address the problem.
Researchers at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, have
already tested pigs and chickens and have found no evidence that they can be
infected by the virus.
"We want to recruit more specialized labs around the world to help extend this
type of work to all domestic species," says Klaus Stohr, the WHO's chief SARS
expert, based at the organization's Geneva headquarters. He warns that a
domestic animal acting as a reservoir would pose a greater risk to humans than
if only wild species harbour the virus.
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