Victims of Wuhan virus had amassed mucus in their lungs. TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The first autopsies of victims from the Wuhan virus (COVID-19) have demonstrated significant differences from those who died of the SARS epidemic, according to Chinese pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan (鍾南山). Zhong, a leading scientist in the fight against SARS and someone who has authored a study on the coronavirus, said on Tuesday (Feb. 18) that postmortems can play an important role in uncovering mysteries surrounding epidemics like SARS and the Wuhan virus. He pointed out that unlike those who perished due to SARS, autopsies of the first two deaths in the recent outbreak reveal that their lungs did not exhibit significant pulmonary fibrosis, or thickened and stiff lung tissue, reported Sina. Instead, their lungs were found to have severe inflammations and mucus buildup, which resulted in breathing difficulty.