• Elmira T Isakbaeva, Nino Khetsuriani, R Suzanne Beard, Angela Peck, Dean Erdman, Stephan S Monroe, Suxiang Tong, Thomas G Ksiazek, Sara Lowther, Indra Pandya-Smith, Larry J Anderson, Jairam Lingappa, Marc-Alain Widdowson, and SARS Investigation Group.
• Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. iae4@cdc.gov
• Emerging Infect. Dis. 2004 Feb 1; 10 (2): 225-31.

AbstractTo better assess the risk for transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), we obtained serial specimens and clinical and exposure data from seven confirmed U.S. SARS patients and their 10 household contacts. SARS-CoV was detected in a day-14 sputum specimen from one case-patient and in five stool specimens from two case-patients. In one case-patient, SARS-CoV persisted in stool for at least 26 days after symptom onset. The highest amounts of virus were in the day-14 sputum sample and a day-14 stool sample. Residual respiratory symptoms were still present in recovered SARS case-patients 2 months after illness onset. Possible transmission of SARS-CoV occurred in one household contact, but this person had also traveled to a SARS-affected area. The data suggest that SARS-CoV is not always transmitted efficiently. Routine collection and testing of stool and sputum specimens of probable SARS case-patients may help the early detection of SARS-CoV infection.

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