http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31397-2003May23.html Segments: >The researchers then conducted detailed genetic analysis of the virus >they isolated from the animals and found it was identical to the SARS >virus except that it was missing 29 components known as base pairs. The >missing genetic material came from a gene that carries instructions for >the production of a protein that makes up part of the virus's shell... >"The lack of this peptide may have helped the virus transmit efficiently >from human to human. Perhaps this missing of that piece of protein is >just the trick, the little difference between a harmless animal virus >and a human pathogen. That's a bit of speculation, but this is one >hypothesis."... >It's unknown whether the animals came to the market infected or became >infected upon their arrival. They were sampled from different parts of >the market... >It may also turn out that these animals caught the virus from yet >another, unidentified species... >...China apparently only recently began importing the [civets] in >significant numbers from Vietnam within the past year Oh, in checking further the confusion about the animal types seems to be more common on lists than in news sources. [Posted in FML issue 4161]