Severe Acute Respiratory

Syndrome
Cassie Goodman and Dylan Karle
 Symptoms & Signs

• Usually begins with a sudden onset of a high fever

o Greater than 100.4 degrees
• Headache, overall discomfort, body/muscle aches, chills,
shivering, sore throat, runny nose
• 10%-20% of patients get diarrhea
• Dry cough, breathing difficulties (after 2-7 days)
o Oxygen levels in the blood are low
• Most patients will develop pneumonia (3-4 days)
• Traveled recently to a SARS-affected area
• Been in close contact with someone diagnosed with SARS
• May not be infectious until symptoms begin to appear
o Usually 2-7 days, can be up to 10 days
 Incubation Period
 Symptoms and Signs Continued...

• Acute
o Sudden onset of a high fever
• Can be lethal for severe cases
o 11% average death rate in the most severe cases
• Not lethal for mildly affected people
o With time, relief of symptoms, and no complications
• Difficult to make an accurate prognosis because there is no
cure
o Based on statistics of SARS patients with similar
symptoms and conditions
 Pathogen

• Infectious Agent = Severe Acute Respiratory Virus

o Newly discovered coronavirus
 Coronavirus = group of viruses that have a halo/crown-like
appearance
 Caused by mild to moderate upper respiratory illness in
humans or respiratory, gastrointestinal, liver, and neurologic
diseases in animals
 Sometimes linked to pneumonia
 especially in weak immune systems
 Can usually survive in an environment for a couple of days
• Other viruses may have a role in some cases of SARS as well
 Pathogenesis

• Transmitted through:
o Close contact with an infected person
o Contaminated air and surfaces
• Virus infected respiratory system
o Causes all the respiratory symptoms
 Diagnosis

• Doctor will ask questions (travels), perform a physical exam and

tests
o PCR test
 Polymerase Chain Reaction Test - an essential test that
detects the genetic material of the SARS virus in specimens
of a patient's blood, stool, or nasal secretions
o Serologic Testing
 Laboratory test that searches for antibodies (substances
made by the body's immune system to fight a specific
infection) to the SARS virus in the patient's blood
o Viral Culture
 A small sample of the patient's tissue or fluid that may be
infected is placed in a container along with cells in which the
SARS virus can grow and if the SARS virus grows in the
culture, it will cause changes in the cells that can be seen
under a microscope
 Transmission

• Close person to person contact

o Coughs
o Sneezes
• If a person touches a contaminated surface and then
touches their eyes mouth or nose
 Epidemiology

• Began in Guangdong, China in 2002

• Fairly well contained once it spread around the globe
• Only one outbreak so far
• Spread from China to North America, South America,
Europe and other parts of Asia
o Major outbreak in Toronto, Canada
• Airplanes and business men
 Treatment

• No uniform treatment for SARS-CoV

• Can easily be confused with other lung related illnesses so
patients are usually given:
o Broadspectrum antibiotics
o Antiviral agents
o Immunomodulatory therapy
o Supportive care
• Requires intensive care and observation
 Prevention

• Quarantine and Isolation

• Good hand hygene
• Pay attention to what surfaces you touch
• Infected must remember to effectively cover their mouths
when they sneeze or cough
• Surgical masks
• Gloves
 Citations

• http://diseases.emedtv.com/sars/sars-prognosis.html
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/SARS/factsheet.htm
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/
• http://www.aseansec.org/sars_symptoms.htm
• http://www.sarsreference.com/sarsref
• www.absa.org/pdf/090911DHHS_SARS_Select_Agent_Co
mments.pdf
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