重症急性呼吸综合征(SARS)冠状病毒 (CoV) 主要通过飞沫传播,通过呼吸道粘膜进入人体并导致病毒血症。 已发现血管紧张素转换酶 2 (ACE2) 是 SARS-CoV 的功能性受体。[9]Li W, Moore MJ, Vasilieva N, et al. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus. Nature. 2003;426:450-454.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14647384?tool=bestpractice.com 该病的潜伏期为 2 至 10 日,在发病的第2周传染性较大,这与病毒载量高峰的时间相关。[10]World Health Organization. Consensus document on the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). May 2003 [internet publication].http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/WHOconsensus.pdf[11]Peiris JS, Chu CM, Cheng VC, et al. Clinical progression and viral load in a community outbreak of coronavirus-associated SARS pneumonia: a prospective study. Lancet. 2003;361:1767-1772.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12781535?tool=bestpractice.com 尽管粪-口传播或粪-呼吸道传播的影响不大,但不能排除污染物传播和空气传播的可能性。[12]Parashar UD, Anderson LJ. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: review and lessons of the 2003 outbreak. Int J Epidemiol. 2004;33:628-634.http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/4/628.fullhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15155694?tool=bestpractice.com 尽管预计每个 SARS 患者会感染 2 至 4 人,[13]Lipsitch M, Cohen T, Cooper B, et al. Transmission dynamics and control of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Science. 2003;300:1966-1970.http://www.sciencemag.org/content/300/5627/1966.fullhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12766207?tool=bestpractice.com 人们认为,在 2002-2003 年的大流行中,少数感染者导致了不成比例数量的传播,即所谓的“超级传播事件”,并且重症急性呼吸综合征 (SARS) 暴发通过“超级传播”机制在全世界范围内传播。[14]Shen Z, Ning F, Zhou W, et al. Superspreading SARS events, Beijing, 2003. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:256-260.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15030693?tool=bestpractice.com[15]Varia M, Wilson S, Sarwal S, et al. Investigation of a nosocomial outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto, Canada. CMAJ. 2003;169:285-292.http://www.cmaj.ca/content/169/4/285.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12925421?tool=bestpractice.com
该疾病的过程有 3 个阶段:病毒复制、肺炎和肺纤维化。[16]Tsang KW, Ooi GC, Ho PL. Diagnosis and pharmacotherapy of severe acute respiratory syndrome: what have we learnt? Eur Respir J. 2004;24:1025-1032.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15572549?tool=bestpractice.com 肺的病理学检查结果包括弥漫性肺泡损伤、肺泡上皮细胞脱落、透明膜形成和炎细胞浸润。[17]Nicholls JM, Poon LL, Lee KC, et al. Lung pathology of fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome. Lancet. 2003;361:1773-1778.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12781536?tool=bestpractice.com 病程越长,肺组织的纤维化越广泛。
尽管部分患者的病毒载量在发病的第3周下降,但仍出现临床病情恶化,这提示免疫功能失调可能在其中起作用。[18]Gu J, Korteweg C. Pathology and pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Am J Pathol. 2007;170:1136-1147.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829448/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17392154?tool=bestpractice.com[19]Tsang KW, Ho PL, Ooi GC, et al. A cluster of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:1977-1985.http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa030666http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12671062?tool=bestpractice.com 此外,HLA-B*4601 单倍体与重症急性呼吸综合征感染的严重程度有关,说明存在遗传倾向性。[20]Lin M, Tseng HK, Trejaut JA, et al. Association of HLA class I with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. BMC Med Genet. 2003;4:9.http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2350/4/9http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12969506?tool=bestpractice.com