Background of the antigen
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) were previously only associated with mild diseases. The SARS-CoV genome contains five major open reading frames (ORFs) that encode the replicase polyprotein; the spike (S), envelope (E), and membrane (M) glycoproteins; and the nucleocapsid protein (N).
