Coronavirus — Worldwide/Unknown
The recent observation that upper respiratory tract (URT) swabs may not contain MERS-CoV, while the lower respiratory tract (LRT) can harbour the virus in the same patients, suggests an hypothesis that infection by MERS-CoV may be dependent on the variety of neuraminidase-linked sialic acid at receptor sites in respiratory epithelium, as is widely recognized in avian influenza [AI] virus. Successful airborne spread of AI appears to be more likely when the virus has adapted to attachment with
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