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To: Ilaine who started this subject	8/25/2003 7:23:28 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) of 1069

Houston, We Have a Problem The latest in the Wall Street Journal indicates that Winnipeg is standing by their exact match with SARS CoV and say that the OC43 sequences are from a dual infection or a recombinant. Which brings us back to the failure of the BC lab to detect the exact matches and the failure of the CDC to detect antibody to SARS CoV. Meanwhile, health officials lift the quarantine and allow visits to the Kinsmen Place Lodge to resume and withhold the name of the second nursing home (most probably Kinsmen Retirement Centre in Delta, BC). There is something VERY wrong with this picture. Identifying the infectious agent is pretty basic and the sequencing of 750 bp in 8 samples is pretty conclusive. If the data is not an artifact, then there is concern on all fronts (failure to detect by major labs in the US and Canada and failure to interpret the results properly by health officials in Canada). If the exact matches are wrong, then there is a major contamination problem at Winnipeg (although its hard to believe that they would be standing by their story without rigorously reviewing potential contamination). There are now almost 50 sequences of SARS CoV published or soon to be published, yet the ability to determine if short stretches of sequence data are real remains at issue 4 months after the etiological agent of SARS has been isolated. These issues should be resolved immediately. Flu and cold season is just around the corner for Canada and the US, but at least one lab is not ready for prime time.

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