Word: coronaviruses
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...fact, despite intensive research in labs all over the world, scientists still have more questions than answers about SARS and the coronavirus that causes it. So while teams from WHO are helping health workers on the front lines, other scientists are redoubling their efforts to understand SARS' natural history...
...virtual lab and independent biotech companies have already come up with several tests, but they are not yet reliable enough to be widely deployed. Canadian microbiologists reported last week that as many as 40% of their SARS patients did not test positive for coronavirus. That might be because their tests are not sufficiently sensitive or, even more worrisome, because the coronavirus has mutated enough to elude detection...
...have been fatigue and complacency in the changing room. CDC scientists reported last week that the virus can survive as long as 24 hours outside the body: doctors and nurses who touch their protective gear while changing into regular clothing may be unwittingly exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus...
...Researchers are even more worried that the coronavirus, which may be a mutated version of a virus common to animals, could mutate again, becoming more resistant to current treatments. "We are beginning to see patients not responding," says Tam, "and that's a very worrying development." A shape shift in the coronavirus' genetic code can make it more virulent and contagious. Highly mutable HIV continues to frustrate doctors, as it transforms before a vaccine can be developed...
...Fortunately, the coronavirus seems to be more stable than HIV, and researchers are confident that SARS-specific antivirals and vaccines can be developed over time. For those patients already under attack from a microbe science is only beginning to understand, that help may be too little, too late...