Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

By: Tanner VanDrisse

Topics in Human Geography

In the last few decades there have been numerous infectious diseases emerging nationally and
internationally. Many of these diseases have unknown roots and spread rapidly. The purpose of
this paper is to explore the history, treatment and environmental factors of the infectious disease
named SARs. This paper will examine the outbreak in two different countries and analyze
prevention and characteristics.

In the early 2000s an infectious disease broke out in China named SARs. SARs is an
acronym for severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The disease is believed to have originated in Guangdong China in 2003. The virus first
began in animals and then later was transmitted to humans. In the image below, it is shown how
quickly the disease spread across the globe in just one year of being introduced to humans. Much
of this is believed to have been caused by those becoming infected but remaining asymptomatic
until they had already traveled to a new area and then became visibly ill with SARS.
Image found at: Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/pandemic
(accessed November 27, 2017).

In looking at two countries with the disease, we can clearly see how the diffusion and
location of the disease was similar in each country. In China, the disease started in the country
landscape and quickly spread to populated areas. By the time the disease was recognized as
SARS, it had already spread to many since precautionary measures were not being taken. In
another country stricken with the disease was Japan. The first of anyone to be stricken with the
disease was a man who had been traveling in China and had come down with symptoms that
would later be recognized as a sign of SARS. While spending a week in the hospital receiving
treatment, 22 nurses and other medical staff became ill with the same symptoms. From there, the
disease would continue to spread as there still was no action taken for presenting the disease.
 In the image below of SARS in China, it is evident that the disease stayed close to its
originating location of Guangdong but quickly spread to larger, more urban areas such as Beijing
where they saw one of the highest rates of cases of SARS at 2334 cases.

Image from: Inside One World. http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/china_sars_map.htm

(accessed November 27, 2017).

Now to look into the country of Japan to understand their diffusion of the disease. In the
image below, it is evident that the diseased remained the heaviest in the areas of red which are
also the most populated areas of the country. It was here that close contact occurred regularly,
allowing for the easy spread of disease from person to person. The disease did also reach more
rural areas of the country which lead to harder diagnosis and treatment as well as prevention
because of the fact the physicians were not as commonly found as they are in urban areas,
therefore many children were infected by the disease from others.
Image found at: Statistics of Japan. http://stats-japan.com/t/kiji/13400 (accessed November 27,
2017).
 In regards to controlling the disease, the best advice that is being given to patients already
with the disease is to cover their cough, sneezes, or anything that releases fluid from facial
orifices. It is found that these are some of the easiest ways in preventing the disease because
when infected patients are standing near others, their bodily fluids can very easily be spread from
person to person. It is also highly recommended that those infected wear surgical masks when
around those not infected to promote a stronger likelihood of not transmitting the disease to
others. Research on the disease is continuing to be performed for the fact that it has grown into
other areas of the world and theories are still being developed as to how the disease is transmitted
from both humans and animals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the global level, the
SARS-Co-V is the first vaccine to be created in order to combat this disease. It works by
neutralizing antibodies and the receptor-binding domain which is also involved in the developing
of antibodies. The goal of this vaccine is to target people who are not yet infected with the
disease and promote neutralizing antibody responses against a vast amount of viral strains; 2)
induce protection against transmission and infection; and 3) be safe by not causing any infecting
antibodies or harmful immune or inflammatory actions. These studies and the vaccine itself are
being funded by the CDC as well as the WHO.
In conclusion, it is found that SARS itself stays densely in the area of origin, but begins to
quickly spread once it is transmitted from animal to human. It is here that it begins traveling in
planes and cars to other areas of a nation or even to another country. At this point the disease
then becomes hardest to stop because diagnosis cannot always be made before symptoms are
showing and the disease is then being transmitted through the air from fluid particles of infected
individuals.
 SARS also proved to be most deadly in humans of which did not seek medical care in
belief that they were simply having respiratory issues related to the common cold or something
not quite as severe as SARS. Along with detection of SARS comes the vaccine, SARS-Co-V.
This vaccine was meant to target those not infected with SARS and prevent the development of
SARS antibodies.
If able to research further, it would be unique to understand how this disease would
survive is areas of the highest rates of illness entered freezing zones where the temperature
remained cooler and people one would associate with one another outside. This bizarre idea
could possibly yield positive results if performed correctly.
Getting more into the science of things, I think it would have also been unique to put a
group of healthy individuals into a closed room and have them all wear medical masks and then
have then expel different fluids from their mouths which could be seen with a certain light in
order to better understand how much bodily substance in still able to be passed through the mask,
proving its ineffectiveness.
In the end, although this is a disease that has seen some control over the last decade, it is
one that must be closely monitored since it is capable of spreading easily, particularly from
person to person.