SARS--Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- or SARS -- is a mystery virus that that swept across parts of Asia and the Far East, and moved worldwide. It is thought that the virus originated in the Guangdong province in southern China, with neighboring Hong Kong being one of the main centers of the outbreak. Scientists are focusing on two different possible viruses as being the possible cause of the illness: one is from the Coronavirus family (a virus that is often a cause of the common cold), and the other from the paramyxovirus family (which causes measles and mumps). It is believed that a combination of the two viruses might cause the more deadly variation that has been exposed. The spread of the disease prompted Singapore and Hong Kong and parts of Canada to close certain public places and invoke a quarantine law affecting people thought to have had close contact with others who were infected with the disease.
The main symptoms of SARS are high fever (greater than 38 C or 100.4 F), combined with a dry cough, shortness of breath, or breathing difficulties, with other possible symptoms including headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, malaise, confusion, rash and diarrhea. A cocktail of drugs has been shown to be effective in combating the illness. SARS seems to be spread through close contact with an infected person, with the incubation period estimated to be between two and seven days.
Last updated: June 21, 2004.
