Antibodies in African Bat Species

S acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged as a newly recognized human disease in the People’s Republic of China late in 2002 and spread globally, causing 8,422 infections with 916 (11%) deaths before it was brought under control in 2003 (1). The causative agent was identifi ed as a coronavirus (SARS-CoV) (2–4), and related viruses found in palm civets (Paguma larvata), raccoon dogs (Nycereutes procyonoides) (5), and insectivorous bats in Asia cluster phylogenetically together with SARS-CoV in a putative group 4 (6–10). Farmed food animals such as civets may acquire SARS-like-CoV infection from bats, and adaptation of the viruses to these secondary hosts may occasionally give rise to strains capable of spreading and causing disease in humans (HCoV) (10).