The viruses found in these animals were then grown in culture, and genetic sequencing showed them to be identical to the human form of SARS except for a single additional gene sequence.
Twenty-five animals from eight species were examined, and no signs of SARS were detected in any other species. However, all six of the tested civets—which were from different owners—were found to be infected, as was the lone raccoon dog. (Although widely reported as “cats” in the western media, the palm civet merely resembles a cat and is more closely related to the mongoose. The raccoon dog however, is indeed from the dog family. Both are regularly eaten in Asia.) Only the single badger was tested. None of the animals showed any external signs of being unhealthy.
Without testing additional animals, it is impossible to know how common this virus is among those species, or to know the geographical distribution of infection. It is also unknown at this time if there is any link between the animal form of SARS and the spread of the human form. However the Associated Press has reported (here via ABC News) that 30% of the initial cases of SARS in Guangdong province were among animal handlers, a higher percentage than would be expected in a random sample.
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Meanwhile, professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University, apparently desperate for media coverage for his poorly-accepted theories (some of which really do have merit), suggested Friday a completely unverifiable and unsubstantiable “theory” that SARS came to Earth on a comet or meteorite. He also attributes most other epidemics in recent times, such as the Plague of Athens and the influenza pandemic of 1917-1919, to spaceborne viruses, which just happen to inexplicably share genetic markers with those which originated here, and just happen to be able to interact with living cells on Earth.
This story has been picked up by dozens of news sources. Most scientists, being unfortunately polite, refrain from stating that Wickramasinghe is outright crazy, and instead, like Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, simply say things like, “We have many hypotheses that are far more plausible than meteorites.” However, some are more direct, like Lynn Rothschild, a space biologist at the NASA Ames Research Center. She said, “It’s just not credible. To be a successful parasite you have to know your system. You can’t just go in and invade and expect things to work.”
Update [2003-5-24 10:50:37 by Bob]: Finally, now that this story is drawing more (completely undeserved) attention, some scientists are coming out with harsher responses to Wickramasinghe’s “theory.” In today’s Albuquerque Tribune, a scientist from the University of New Mexico sums up the situation nicely. “These are actually prestigious guys with a history of wild ideas,” Horton Newsom, a scientist at the UNM Institute of Meteorites, said. “That just goes to show you what some people can get away with when they have tenure.”