Posted on 03/18/2003 10:12:00 AM PST by Mother Abigail
Paramyxovirus-like particles identified by electron microscopy
Numerous tests have been performed on the 3 patients admitted on Saturday 15 March to the Isolation Unit at Frankfurt am Main with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Tests from respiratory specimens for influenza A and B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, enteroviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. by antigen enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were all negative; antibody tests for dengue, influenza A and B, measles, hantaviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. were likewise negative or unremarkable so far; further test results are pending.
Particles morphologically resembling paramyxoviruses were seen in respiratory specimens (throat swab and sputum) obtained from the index patient, a doctor from Singapore, by the teams in Marburg and in Frankfurt am Main.
It remains to be seen whether this finding can be confirmed -- tests including low-stringency paramyxovirus PCR and tissue culture are currently under way in Hamburg, in Marburg and in Frankfurt am Main. It needs to be emphasised that at this time these preliminary results only indicate a suspicion. Furthermore, even if the presence of a paramyxovirus was confirmed, it is not clear at this stage whether this might represent the causal agent of SARS or rather a coincidental finding.
Spry? Not today.
My throat is killing me!! (strep?)
Look for at least one colloidal silver enthusiast to poke his head in this thread before it's over. (It's like a tinfoil hat that you swallow.)
If so, that's a REALLY creepy coincidence.
Paramyxovirus-like particles identified by electron microscopy
Dey seen a bug.
Numerous tests have been performed on the 3 patients admitted on Saturday 15 March to the Isolation Unit at Frankfurt am Main with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Tests from respiratory specimens for influenza A and B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, enteroviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. by antigen enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were all negative; antibody tests for dengue, influenza A and B, measles, hantaviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. were likewise negative or unremarkable so far; further test results are pending.
Dey know a bunch of stuff it ain't.
Particles morphologically resembling paramyxoviruses were seen in respiratory specimens (throat swab and sputum) obtained from the index patient, a doctor from Singapore, by the teams in Marburg and in Frankfurt am Main.
De bug looks like "Paramyxovirus".
It remains to be seen whether this finding can be confirmed -- tests including low-stringency paramyxovirus PCR and tissue culture are currently under way in Hamburg, in Marburg and in Frankfurt am Main. It needs to be emphasised that at this time these preliminary results only indicate a suspicion. Furthermore, even if the presence of a paramyxovirus was confirmed, it is not clear at this stage whether this might represent the causal agent of SARS or rather a coincidental finding.
But dey ain't sure it's DE bug...< /gallows humor >
Chances are it is, but it will take more testing.
This is good news, although it also means antibiotics won't have much effect in treating the disease, unless some other complications develop.
It also means that a vaccine could probably be developed, although that would take months at a minimum.
So, while this is good news, it's also bad news. We see Captain Tripps, but we don't know what to do about it.
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