Detection of SARS Coronavirus in Humans and Animals by Conventional and Quantitative (Real Time) Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reactions

Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a novel human disease caused by a coronavirus of animal origin. Soon after the discovery SARS-CoV, several molecular assays were described for the detection of this virus. Of these, conventional and quantitative RT-PCR approaches were the primary tools for SARS-CoV RNA detection. In this chapter we describe a two-step conventional RT-PCR and a one-step quantitative RT-PCR that were used routinely in our laboratories during the SARS outbreak.