Health & Nutrition
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Lately, we've been hearing a lot about a disease called severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS). SARS is a respiratory illness that has recently
been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. The illness usually begins
with a fever. The fever is sometimes associated with chills or other symptoms,
including headache, general feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people
also experience mild respiratory symptoms at the outset.
The incubation period for SARS is typically 2-7 days; however, isolated
reports have suggested an incubation period as long as 10 days. After 2 to 7
days, SARS patients may develop a dry, nonproductive cough that might be
accompanied by or progress to the point where insufficient oxygen is getting to
the blood. In 10% to 20% of cases, patients will require mechanical ventilation.
The principal way SARS appears to be spread is through droplet transmission;
namely, when someone sick with SARS coughs or sneezes droplets into the air and
someone else breathes them in. It is possible that SARS can be transmitted more
broadly through the air or from objects that have become contaminated.
Cases of SARS continue to be reported primarily among people who have had
direct close contact with an infected person, such as those sharing a household
with a SARS patient and health care workers who did not use infection control
procedures while caring for a SARS patient. In the United States, there is no
indication of community transmission at this time. SARS has also occurred among
air travelers, primarily travelers to and from Hong Kong, Hanoi, Singapore, and
mainland China.
As of April 2, U. S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) had received 100
reports of suspected SARS cases from 28 states; 81 cases occurred among adults.
Of these 100 suspected cases, 94 persons had traveled within the 10 days before
illness onset to the areas of mainland China, four had household contact with a
person with suspected SARS, and two were health-care workers who provided
medical care to a patient with suspected
SARS. Symptoms of SARS have been relatively less severe among patients in the
United States than among those reported elsewhere. As of April 2, of the 40
patients who were hospitalized for >24 hours, 13 remained hospitalized; one
patient had required mechanical ventilatory support,
and no deaths have been reported.
As a precautionary measure, the World Health Organization has recommended
that persons traveling to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province of China consider
postponing all but essential travel. CDC has issued a similar travel advisory
recommending that persons planning nonessential or elective travel to mainland
China, Hong Kong, Hanoi, or Singapore consider postponing such travel until
further notice.
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