Asymptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome–associated Coronavirus Infection

摘要

To the Editor: An outbreak ofsevere acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) began in Hong Kong inMarch 2003. As of May 29, 2003, atotal of 1,732 cases were confirmed;381 case-patients were healthcareworkers and medical students.Clinical features, treatment protocols,and outcomes have been previouslyreported by various local experts(1–3). The etiologic agent is a SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)(1). However, no asymptomatic caseof SARS-CoV infection has been pre-viously reported (4). In addition, inHong Kong, blood donors have notshown any detectable antibody toSARS-CoV (1). We report a case ofpossible asymptomatic SARS-CoVinfection in Hong Kong