Unravelling SARS lethality

摘要

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), an illness identified in 2003 that spread throughout the world for several months, re-awakened nightmares of a lethal global pandemic. Caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), therapeutic options are limited, and fears of renewed outbreaks highlight the paramount importance of understanding its pathogenicity. Reporting in Nature Medicine, a multinational research team now provides a molecular explanation for the high lethality associated with SARS, and highlight a potential therapeutic strategy for tackling SARS and possibly other respiratory disease viruses.