SARS coronavirus may originate from masked civet

cctv.com 01-05-2004 13:35

The latest SARS research results in South China's Guangdong Province indicate that the SARS coronavirus which infects humans might originate from masked civets.

The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control announced today that the 'S' gene sequence discovered in the samples of the coronavirus from the suspected SARS patient show a high degree of affinity with the 'S' gene sequence Hong Kong University found in the SARS coronavirus carried by masked civets.

Experts are suggesting that the government take precautionary measures such as banning human consumption of masked civets and a list of other animals to reduce the chance of humans being infected by the SARS virus.

Editor:Xiao  Source:CCTV.com