NEWS: SARS Case in China Found to Be Variation of Original

Is it a mutation of last year's SARS coronavirus?
The 32 year old news reporter in Guangzhou suspected of being the first SARS case in China since May of 2003 has been determined to have a coronavirus. However, it's no coronavirus that's been documented thus far.



Gene sequencing in the suspected patient revealed his illness is caused by a coronavirus, but that it is a variation with a gene sequence scientists have never seen before. The variation is slight, between 1-2% in total, but that slight variation can mean more. There is a chance that it points to either another strain of SARS or a mutation of the original virus.
Further testing is ongoing.
english.peopledaily.com.cn...


[Edited on 5-1-2004 by Banshee]

More:
Link

...the man had been ill while SARS was raging in Guangdong Province last winter -- but he had not then been suspected of having SARS. If he did, this case may be a reactivation of the earlier infection, a development with horrific consequences for the thousands that survived the first round of infections -- and for the medical establishments that must try to plan for and contain any future outbreak.

There are viruses that "reactivate," most notably the herpes simplex viruses which reside in nerve cells once the body is infected.
In this case, a potentially fatal respiratory virus that is capable of reactivating could very well lead to untold deaths.

-B.

"A mutated strain of the deadly virus, a genetics expert researching the case said."

This doesn't look good if it can keep re-appearing like this..

www.cnn.com...