Vaccsbook

The SARS pandemic began in early 2003 in southern China and spread throughout south east Asia, India, Canada, USA, and Australia; isolated cases were also reported in western Europe.
The majority of deaths were in south east Asia and Canada.

Type

SARS is a coronavirus thought to have originated in bats in southern China. It was also found in Civets (fox-like mamals native to south east Asia).

Also known as

SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Disease

Infection with SARS caused a pneumonia. Most patients were otherwise healthy young and middle-aged adults.

Vaccination

There have been reports that the CDC in USA developed a vaccine but its safety and efficacy in humans was never established. The vaccine has never been made available or used. (There has not been a case of SARS since 2004).

Acquisition & Transmission

SARS was an airborne virus transmitted from human to human by respiratory droplets coming into contact with the mouth and nose.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs were an elevated temperature of at least 38C. Symptoms were shortness of breath, muscle pain, cough, lethargy and sore throat.

Timeline

Incubation from exposure to symptoms was 4 to 6 days (range 1 to 14 days), with the illness then lasting 1 to 2 weeks..

Contagion

Infected patients were thought to be contagious from the development of symptoms until 10 days after all symptoms had resolved.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis was made on the basis of symptoms, a history of contact with another infected person, and charateristic chest x-ray..

Body Systems Affected

SARS only affected the lungs, causing a pneumonia in all lobes of the lungs (many pneumonias only affect 1 of the 5 lobes of the lungs).

Treatment

Treatment was supportive; intavenous fluids, oxygen, and intubation with mechanical ventilation when necessary. Antiviral medication was used to treat SARS patients, but their effectiveness could not be studied. Antibacterial (antibiotic) medications were ineffective.

Prevention

Prevention consisted of isolation of infected patients, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by health care workers, and strict infection control practices.

Complications

Most patients who recovered did so without complications, but pulmonary fibrosis (scaring of the lung tissue) has been reported.

Fatalities

Death rate in countries with significant number of cases ranged from 7% in China, to 17% in Hong Kong and Canada, to 21% in Taiwan.

Epidemics & Pandemics

SARS caused a worldwide pandemic (2003-2004) resulting in about 8,000 identified cases and 800 deaths. The majority of cases were in China and Hong Kong, but Canada, Tiawan, and Singpore all had a few hundred cases each. No cases of SARS have been reported since 2004.

Geography

SARS originited in China and spread around the world to almost 30 countries. There were no reports of SARS in South America, Latin America, the Caribbean, or Africa.