Novel Coronavirus Sequences Found in SARS Patients' Tissues and Sera
Novel coronavirus sequences were successfully amplified from 2 dead SARS patients' lung and spleen samples by using nested RT-PCR.The same sequences were also amplified from 6 SARS patients' sera collected from Beijing,Liaoning and Ningxia.The amplified fragment was part of RNA polymerase gene,all the nucleotide sequences of those PCR products were identical,and also were identical to other SARS viruses found in different parts of the world.It is suggested that the novel coronavirus found in spleen and blood of SARS patients was related with atypical pneumonia strongly,because the spleen and blood were not like lung and throat which opened to outside and were easily to be contaminated with viruses.The detection of SARS virus sequences from SARS patients' sera within 3-10 days of disease onset strongly suggested that the sera contain SARS virus,protecting procedures should be taken when working on sera.