Science

Genomic comparison of MERS-CoV & SARS-CoV

The Baric laboratory studies lethal human coronaviruses, specifically Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV). These viruses are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses that cause severe to lethal atypical pneumonias in humans. Overall mortality in the SARS-CoV epidemic was 9%; however, this rate increased to ~50% in males over the age of 50. The overall mortality of the MERS-CoV epidemic is ~40% of currently reported cases, although underreporting of the total number of cases is suspected.

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https://www.med.unc.edu/orfeome/projects/genomic-comparison-of-mers-cov-sars-cov/

A review of studies on animal reservoirs of the SARS coronavirus
Zhengli Shi, Zhihong Hu

Abstract

In this review, we summarize the researches on animal reservoirs of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Masked palm civets were suspected as the origin of the SARS outbreak in 2003 and was confirmed as the direct origin of SARS cases with mild symptom in 2004. Sequence analysis of the SARS-CoV-like virus in masked palm civets indicated that they were highly homologous to human SARS-CoV with nt identity over 99.6%, indicating the virus has not been circulating in the population of masked palm civets for a very long time. Alignment of 10 complete viral genome sequences from masked palm civets with those of human SARS-CoVs revealed 26 conserved single-nucleotide variations (SNVs) in the viruses from masked palm civets. These conserved SNVs were gradually lost from the genomes of viruses isolated from the early phase to late phase human patients of the 2003 SARS epidemic. In 2005, horseshoe bats were identified as the natural reservoir of a group of coronaviruses that are distantly related to SARS-CoV. The genome sequences of bat SARS-like coronavirus had about 88-92% nt identity with that of the SARS-CoV. The prevalence of antibodies and viral RNA in different bat species and the characteristics of the bat SARS-like coronavirus were elucidated. Apart from masked palm civets and bats, 29 other animal species had been tested for the SARS-CoV, and the results are summarized in this paper.

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A breakthrough came in May of 2003 when viruses related to SARS were identified in animals. A team led by Yi Guan (Hong Kong University) and colleagues from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Shenzhen, studied 25 individuals from 8 different species including 6 masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), 1 raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), 2 Chinese ferret-badgers (Melogale moschata), 3 hog-badgers (Arctonyx collaris), 3 beavers (Castor fiber), 4 domestic cats (Felis catus), 3 Chinese hares (Lepus sinensis) and 2 Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) gathered in Dongmen Market, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province (Guan et al., 2003).

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168170207001050?via%3Dihub