Copyright
©The Author(s) 2005. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Excretion and detection of SARS coronavirus and its nucleic acid from digestive system
Xin-Wei Wang, Jin-Song Li, Ting-Kai Guo, Bei Zhen, Qing-Xin Kong, Bin Yi, Zhong Li, Nong Song, Min Jin, Xiao-Ming Wu, Wen-Jun Xiao, Xiu-Mei Zhu, Chang-Qing Gu, Jing Yin, Wei Wei, Wei Yao, Chao Liu, Jian-Feng Li, Guo-Rong Ou, Min-Nian Wang, Tong-Yu Fang, Gui-Jie Wang, Yao-Hui Qiu, Huai-Huan Wu, Fu-Huan Chao, Jun-Wen Li
Xin-Wei Wang, Qing-Xin Kong, Zhong Li, Nong Song, Min Jin, Chang-Qing Gu, Jing Yin, Guo-Rong Ou, Fu-Huan Chao, Jun-Wen Li, Tianjin Institute of Environment and Health, Tianjin 300050, China
Jin-Song Li, Bei Zhen, Xiao-Ming Wu, Wen-Jun Xiao, Wei Wei, Min-Nian Wang, Gui-Jie Wang, Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100072, China
Ting-Kai Guo, Xiu-Mei Zhu, Wei Yao, Jian-Feng Li, Yao-Hui Qiu, Huai-Huan Wu, Xiao Tang Shan Hospital, Beijing 102211, China
Bin Yi, 309 Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100091, China
Chao Liu, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
Tong-Yu Fang, Beijing Institute of Basic Medicine, Beijing 100850, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, 863 Program, No. 2004AA649100, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30471436
Correspondence to: Dr. Jun-Wen Li, Tianjin Institute of Environment and Health, Tianjin 300050, China. junwenli@eyou.com
Telephone: +86-22-84655345 Fax: +86-22-23328809
Received: April 22, 2004
Revised: May 23, 2004
Accepted: May 5, 2005
Published online: July 28, 2005
AIM: To study whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) could be excreted from digestive system.
METHODS: Cell culture and semi-nested RT-PCR were used to detect SARS-CoV and its RNA from 21 stool and urine samples, and a kind of electropositive filter media particles was used to concentrate the virus in 10 sewage samples from two hospitals receiving SARS patients in Beijing in China.
RESULTS: It was demonstrated that there was no live SARS-CoV in all samples collected, but the RNA of SARS-CoV could be detected in seven stool samples from SARS patients with any one of the symptoms of fever, malaise, cough, or dyspnea, in 10 sewage samples before disinfection and 3 samples after disinfection from the two hospitals. The RNA could not be detected in urine and stool samples from patients recovered from SARS.
CONCLUSION: Nucleic acid of SARS-CoV can be excreted through the stool of patients into sewage system, and the possibility of SARS-CoV transmitting through digestive system cannot be excluded.
