ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Introduction

Acute Respiratory Syndrome -CoV (Acute Respiratory Syndrome -associated coronavirus ) is the major factor for causing Acute Respiratory Syndrome. It was the first newly emerging disease of the 21st century (Drache, 2003). It appeared in southeastern China in November 2002 and spread with lightning speed to every continent before it was contained just a few months later. It raised alarms among health officials and the general public because it underscored how rapidly a new infectious disease could spread around the world, potentially causing a pandemic. Although Acute Respiratory Syndrome subsequently disappeared, it left a legacy of fear and severe economic consequences (Drache, 2003).

  Illustration of the Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus.

They are large viruses carrying single-stranded RNA as their genetic material. In animals coronaviruses can cause serious respiratory, gastrointestinal , liver , and neurological disease. However, in humans coronaviruses normally cause only mild-to-moderate upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold (Drache, 2003). Therefore, health officials were taken by surprise when the death toll from the first wave of Acute Respiratory Syndrome approached 15 percent and exceeded 50 percent in patients over age 65 (Durbin, 2003).

Where Did Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Come From?

Within weeks of the first recognized Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases, scientists had identified a coronavirus as the causative agent and immediately guessed that it was an animal virus that had crossed over to infect humans. Palm civets—small Asian weasel-like mammals —were the suspected culprit. Civets are considered a delicacy in southern China and are commonly sold in live-food markets and restaurants (Durbin, 2003). Early Acute Respiratory Syndrome victims included a waitress at a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, that served palm civet and a customer seated close to the restaurant's animal cages.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an infectious disease that is caused by a pathogen called SARS-associated coronavirus, a virus previously unknown. It is assumed that the transmission of this agent to humans has occurred for the first time in the context of wildlife trade. But SARS can also spread from one person to another. There is every reason to believe that the SARS-associated coronavirus or similar coronavirus persist in various wild animals of Southeast Asia and it is not impossible that one day these viruses are transmitted again from the animals to humans, triggering a new epidemic.

How Common Is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome?

In the United States, only eight people were diagnosed with confirmed Acute Respiratory Syndrome , all of whom had traveled to regions of the world where Acute Respiratory Syndrome was being transmitted. There were no Acute Respiratory Syndrome -related deaths in the United States (Durbin, 2003).

A second outbreak of a milder strain of Acute Respiratory Syndrome -CoV, which occurred in December 2003 and January 2004, resulted in only four diagnosed cases. Nine cases in March and May 2004 were traced to laboratory accidents in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. By late 2004, Acute Respiratory Syndrome had seemingly disappeared, almost ...