PLYMOUTH, N.H.-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has reportedly spread to Asia, North American, Canada, and Europe. SARS is responsible for taking thirteen lives in Canada, and Canada has suffered more total fatalities than in China. The illness is predominantly found in Asia. It has been added to the Executive Order 13295: Revised List of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases by President George W. Bush.
Executive Order 13295 states, “SARS, which is a disease associated with fever and signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illness, is transmitted from person to person predominately by the aerosolized or droplet route, and if spread in the population, would have severe public health consequences.”
Also included in this list of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases are infectious Tuberculosis, Cholera, Plague, Smallpox, Yellow Fever, and other illnesses that have not yet been named or isolated. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), SARS “usually begins with a fever (greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit); and is sometimes associated with chills or other symptoms such as headache, the general feeling of discomfort and body aches.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that other symptoms may include “muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, malaise, confusion, rash or diarrhea.” Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After two to seven days a SARS patient may have a dry cough that may progress causing an insufficient oxygen supply to the blood stream. 10% to 20% of cases require patients to have mechanical ventilation.
The first case of SARS was reported on February 26 about a man in Hanoi, Viet Nam who needed respiratory support using a ventilator after displaying many symptoms. Using the reports provided by national public health authorities, as of April 14, WHO informs which countries, and in what areas of those countries have been affected by SARS. These include Toronto, Canada; Singapore; China including Beijing, Guangdong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, and Shanxi; The United States of America; The United Kingdom; and Viet Nam. WHO also reported that from November 1, 2002 to April 14, 2003, there have been 174 cumulative number of cases, causing many officials to ask, “Should we be worried?”
“This illness can be severe and, due to global travel, has spread to several countries in a relatively short period of time. However, SARS is not highly contagious when protective measures are used, and the percentage of cases that have been fatal is low. Since the WHO global alert issued on 15 March, only isolated cases have been identified and no secondary outbreaks have occurred,” according to the WHO website. Moreso, there isn’t any indication that SARS is bioterrorism.
People who live in the same household as an infected SARS patient or health care providers who have not used proper infection control procedures are at great risk. According to the CDC, “in the United States, there isn’t any indication of community transmission at this time”.
A top federal health official says that the vaccine for SARS may be ready to test on monkeys in about a year or so, however, it will not be ready for humans “for years”.
If you have any questions or concerns information can be obtained about SARS on the Internet. Try http://www.cdc.gov, or http://www.who.int for more facts and the latest updates. For the most current updates, pick up a newspaper