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Wildlife and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: The Biology, Circumstances and Consequences of Cross-Species Transmission pp 325–344Cite as

Bats, Civets and the Emergence of SARS

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Part of the Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology book series (CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 315)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first pandemic transmissible disease of previously unknown aetiology in the twenty-first century. Early epidemiologic investigations suggested an animal origin for SARS-CoV. Virological and serological studies indicated that masked palm civets ( Paguma larvata ), together with two other wildlife animals, sampled from a live animal market were infected with SARS-CoV or a closely related virus. Recently, horseshoe bats in the genus Rhinolophus have been identified as natural reservoir of SARS-like coronaviruses. Here, we review studies by different groups demonstrating that SARS-CoV succeeded in spillover from a wildlife reservoir (probably bats) to human population via an intermediate host(s) and that rapid virus evolution played a key role in the adaptation of SARS-CoVs in at least two nonreservoir species within a short period.

Keywords

  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
  • Nipah Virus
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Patient
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, 3220, Geelong, Australia

    L. -F. Wang & B. T. Eaton

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  1. L. -F. Wang
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  2. B. T. Eaton
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and Center for Eco-Epidemiolog, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College St, 208034, 06520-8034, New Haven, CT, USA

    Senior Research Scientist James E. Childs

  2. Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, Curtin University of Technology, U1987, 6845, Perth, WA, Australia

    Professor John S. Mackenzie

  3. Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center USDA, 2300 Dayton Ave Ames, 50010, IA, USA

    Veterinary Medical Officer Jürgen A. Richt

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Wang, L.F., Eaton, B.T. (2007). Bats, Civets and the Emergence of SARS. In: Childs, J.E., Mackenzie, J.S., Richt, J.A. (eds) Wildlife and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: The Biology, Circumstances and Consequences of Cross-Species Transmission. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 315. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70962-6_13

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