NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (GenomeWeb News) - Early tests on the genome of a virus striking two Vancouver, Canada-area nursing homes indicate that it may be related to the SARS virus, British Columbia health officials said this week.
The coronavirus, which caused a mild respiratory illness among residents of a second nursing home this week after striking a first home in July, is not as serious as SARS and does not appear to cause pneumonia in most patients.
Tests of 3 percent of the genome of the coronavirus found in some of the affected patients showed that the genome is so far identical to that of the SARS virus. Tests of the remainder of the genome are currently underway.