A DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY FOR THE HUMAN VIRUS CAUSING SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)

摘要

The present invention relates to a diagnostic assay for the virus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in humans ('hSARS virus'). In particular, the invention relates to a real-time quantitative PCR assay for the detection of hSARS virus using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. Specifically, the quantitative assay is a TaqMan® assay. The invention further relates to a diagnostic kit that comprises nucleic acid molecules for the detection of the hSARS virus.