SARS and Civet Cats

Scientists originally thought that SARS was acquired by humans from ducks or pigs in the cramped farming conditions of southern China where animals come in close contact with humans. These seem to be the animals from which new strains of influenza virus arise; however, attempts to infect these animals with the human SARS coronavirus proved unsuccessful. 

Wild civet cats (and other wild animals) are widely eaten in some areas of China and one theory is that an animal coronavirus infected people who handle animals during food preparation. About one third of the original Chinese SARS cases were in food handlers and among these were the very first identified cases. Scientists at The University of Hong Kong found the same virus that infects humans and causes SARS in eight species of animals (including palm civet cats, badgers, raccoon dogs, wild rabbits and barking deer) on sale at a food market in Guangdong province. Whilst large amounts of virus are shed in the feces of these animals, they appear to be unaffected by the virus. Infected species included ALL of the palm civet cats that were sampled. Antibodies to the human SARS virus cross-react with the virus in the animals. Although animal to human transmission of the virus seems likely, it is also possible that animals became infected by virus in human waste that was spread on fields as fertilizer.