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SARS - respiratory illness
The patient usually starts with fever measuring above 100.4°F. The fever is sometimes associated with other symptoms like chills, headache, body ache, and a general feeling of discomfort. Some people also experience mild respiratory difficulty. SARS patients may develop a dry, non-productive cough after 2 to 7 days. As per current information people are most likely to be infectious when they have symptoms, such as fever or cough.
Our immune system protects our bodies against diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, etc. Corona viruses are a group of viruses that have a halo or crown-like (corona) appearance when viewed under a microscope. They are considered to be the cause for mild to moderate upper-respiratory illness in humans. They are linked to pneumonia in humans; especially people with weakened immune systems. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have isolated a virus from the tissues of two SARS patients and then used several laboratory methods to characterize it. Examination by electron microscopy and Genetic Analysis reveal that this virus has the distinctive shape and appearance of corona viruses but differs from previously identified members. Additional studies of the link between this corona virus and SARS are under way.
Potential ways in which SARS can be spread include touching the skin of other people or objects that are contaminated with infectious droplets and then touching your eye (s), nose, or mouth. Generally enveloped viruses such as corona viruses are known to survive up to 3 hours on surfaces. But the survival time of corona virus associated with SARS in the environment is unknown though researchers in Hong Kong found that both dried and liquid samples of the new corona virus survived as long as 24 hours in the environment in one preliminary study. On 17 March 2003, WHO called upon 11 laboratories in 9 countries to join a collaborative multi-center research project on SARS diagnosis taking advantage of modern communication technologies (e-mail; secure web site) to share outcomes of investigation of clinical samples from SARS cases in real time. Some laboratories in the WHO network have reported finding the new corona virus in stool specimens. Research is under way to learn more about the presence and concentration of the virus in different body fluids, including feces.
Public health authorities rely on Isolation and Quarantine to contain the spread of a contagious illness. In Isolation, people who are already affected by the disease are separated from healthy people and their movements restricted in order to stop the spread of the disease. Quarantine, in contrast, applies to those who have been exposed and may be infected. Akshaya
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
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The transmission of SARS appears to occur mainly by direct contact with respiratory secretions and other infectious material, including dispersal of large respiratory droplets. It can spread through the airborne route also.
No "test" is available yet for SARS. However, CDC, in collaboration with WHO and other laboratories, has developed 2 research tests that appear to be very promising in detecting antibodies to the new corona virus. CDC is working to refine and share this testing capability as soon as possible.
