Laboratory Diagnosis of Four Recent Sporadic Cases of Community-acquired SARS, Guangdong Province, China

摘要

Four cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) that occurred from December 16, 2003, to January8, 2004, in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province,China, were investigated. Clinical specimens collected fromthese patients were tested by provincial and national labo-ratories in China as well as members of the World HealthOrganization SARS Reference and Verification LaboratoryNetwork in a collaborative effort to identify and confirmSARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection.Although SARS-CoV was not isolated from any patient,specimens from three patients were positive for viral RNA byreverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction assay andall patients had detectable rises in SARS-CoV–specific anti-bodies. This study shows the effectiveness of a collabora-tive, multilaboratory response to diagnose SARS