infectious diseases
Coronaviruses and Acute Respiratory Syndromes (MERS and SARS)
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a severe, acute respiratory illness caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS is much more severe than other coronavirus infections. SARS is an influenza-like illness that occasionally leads to progressively severe respiratory insufficiency. SARS-CoV was first detected in the Guangdong province of China in November 2002 and subsequently spread to 28 additional countries. In this outbreak, > 8000 cases were reported worldwide, with 774 deaths (about a 10% case fatality rate, increased significantly with age, with a mortality rate > 50% in those > 65 years-old) ( SARS references ). The SARS-CoV outbreak was the first time that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against travel to a region. This outbreak subsided, and no new cases have been identified since 2004. The immediate source was presumed to be civet cats, that were being sold for food in a live-animal market and had likely been infected through contact with a bat before they were captured for sale. Bats are frequent hosts of coronaviruses. SARS-CoV is transmitted from person to person by close personal contact. It is thought to be transmitted most readily by respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Diagnosis of SARS is made clinically, and treatment is supportive. Coordination of prompt and rigid infection control practices helped control the 2002 outbreak rapidly. Although no new cases have been reported since 2004, SARS should not be considered eliminated because the causative virus has an animal reservoir from which it conceivably could reemerge. 