Abstract
Serum samples were obtained from healthcare workers 5 weeks after exposure to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A sensitive dot blot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, complemented by a specific neutralization test, shows that only persons in whom probable SARS was diagnosed had specific antibodies and suggests that subclinical SARS is not an important feature of the disease.
Highlights
Serum samples were obtained from healthcare workers 5 weeks after exposure to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV antibodies in a population of exposed healthcare workers who worked in wards where an outbreak occurred
None of them had positive chest x-ray findings. This is the first study to examine the seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV antibodies in a population with a high likelihood of having been exposed to the virus
Summary
Serum samples were obtained from healthcare workers 5 weeks after exposure to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The proportion of persons infected with SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) whose infection remained subclinical is not known Such information is important, to facilitate understanding of the virulence of the virus but, more importantly to determine whether the control measures currently employed are sufficient to halt the spread of the virus. Three had a history of probable SARS but had recovered sufficiently to return to work Another group of 12 house officers, who joined the department during the week the study started, were invited to participate as negative controls because they had no prior exposure to known SARS patients. When compared to results of an indirect immunofluorescent assay in a limited study comprising 32 case-patients with clinically diagnosed SARS and 977 control serum samples collected before the SARS outbreak, sensitivity and specificity were
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