Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

SARS is a very severe case of pneumonia. caused by a virus isolated in 2003. Infection with the SARS virus results in acute respiratory distress (severe breathing diffculty) and sometimes death.

Causes:

- SARS is caused by a member of the coronavirus family (the same family that can cause the common cold).
- When someone who is infected with SARS they expell droplets into the air. If you come in contact with these droplets, you can become infected. The SARS virus may live on hands, tissues, and other surfaces for up to 6 hours in these droplets and up to 3 hours after the droplets have dried.
- Some cases were caused by airborne transmission
- Live virus had even been found in the stool of people with SARS, where it has been shown to live for up to four days. And the virus may be able to live for months or years when the temperature is below freezing.

Symptoms:

(in order of how commonly they appear)

-Fever
-Chills and shaking
-Muscle aches
-Cough
-Headache
-Less common symptoms include (also in order):
-Dizziness
-Productive cough (sputum)
-Sore throat
-Runny nose
-Nausea and vomiting
-Diarrhea

Treatment:

If they meet all of the definitions of SARS, patients should be hospitalized under isolation.
- Most common treatments:
- Antibiotics to treat bacterial causes of atypical pneumonia
- Antiviral medications
- High doses of steroids to reduce lung inflammation
- Oxygen, breathing support (mechanical ventilation), or chest physiotherapy
If the case is serious, blood serum from someone who have already recovered from SARS can be given, however, nobody knows whether that treatment works well.

Interesting Facts:

- The best form of prevention is washing your hands. If you discover that you have been diagnosed with SARS all people around you should wear surgical masks.
- There was an outbreak of SARS in 2003. 8,098 people became infected with the disease worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the people infected, 774 died.
- People believe that SARS originated on a farm in south China.
- SARS fatality rate is 10% and most people do recover. However, little long term information is known.


Websites Used:

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-sars/overview.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Facts-About-SARS&id=1435440
http://www.cdc.gov/nciDOD/sars/factsheet.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/sars/default.htm
http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/pdfs/sars_factsheet.pdf