How To Prevent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a severe type of pneumonia caused by a coronavirus, was first recognized in 2003. The virus is spread through the air, and patients could become infected through inhalation of infected droplets. Transmission also occurs through contact with infected surfaces. Symptoms of SARS include a fever above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, chills, muscle pain, fatigue, and diarrhea. Patients may also develop a dry cough, and they could have trouble breathing. In severe cases, the infection results in a reduction in oxygen saturation, and is sometimes fatal. Between November 2002 and July 2003, more than eight thousand cases of SARS were documented, and these resulted in over seven hundred deaths. After the outbreak was contained, there was an isolated case of infection at a laboratory in 2004. Since then, no reported cases of SARS have occurred.