What is SARS Virus - Know the Symptoms and Disease Outbreak Patterns

SARS Virus

People often wonder, what is SARS virus and how does it occur? SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, is a respiratory condition that first came to light in 2002-2003.

SARS cases occurred in different continents during that time, including Asia, America and Europe. SARS impacts our respiratory system, which makes it seem similar to the common cold when we first show symptoms.

What Causes SARS?

SARS is a respiratory virus that passes from one person to another, causing their body to develop severe symptoms. Unfortunately, there is still no evidence on the precise circumstances that lead to SARS spreading among humans.

It is often a case of a human getting infected by a smaller mammal, and then spreading the virus among other people. The key to stopping any SARS epidemic is to isolate individuals as soon as they begin to show symptoms, which limits their chances of infecting others and spreading the virus.

How is SARS Spread?

SARS is a virus that spreads from one person to another, often through their saliva or air droplets that result from coughing or sneezing. However, the SARS virus is not highly contagious, in the sense that passing by someone will not give you the infection.

It is more common for family members or significant others to infect each other, because they spend a lot of time in close proximity.

Sometimes SARS is spread widely through apartment buildings where people live very close to each other, or among health care workers who do not take proper precautions while treating patients. Unlike the flu virus, SARS is not a seasonal virus and it can appear at any time.

How is SARS transmitted?

Some examples include:

• Sharing someone’s food or drinking out of their glass.

• Hugging someone or kissing them when they are already infected.

• Coming into close contact with a person, such as breathing the air next to them after they exhale, cough or sneeze.

• Touching objects or items that are contaminated by someone else, and then immediately touching your eyes or mouth or nose.

• Touching something that was contaminated by another person’s feces. This may appear unlikely, but it happens when people do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Symptoms of SARS

The major symptoms of SARS include a high fever, constant coughing, difficulty and shortness in your breathing. It is also common for someone suffering from SARS to feel extremely tired and lethargic, or even experience pain in different muscles or bones.

Diarrhea and other stomach problems are also common, along with a general sense of nausea and loss of appetite. Unlike the flu virus, SARS symptoms are often difficult to treat and manage without a doctor’s supervision.

This is why most SARS patients require hospital stay for at least a few days, which helps them get over the worst of the symptoms.

SARS Death Rate

The scariest parts of the SARS virus, especially at the time it first spread was not the rate of infection but the death rate. With 8,000 cases and more than 700 deaths, this meant a death rate of around one in ten people who got the virus.

Unfortunately, the death rate was even higher among people older than 65, with half of the infected individuals unable to survive the virus.

Treatment for SARS

There is still no legitimate cure available for the SARS virus, which makes it even deadlier if another outbreak were to occur. However, there are steps that doctors and medical staff can take in order to ensure someone survives the symptoms and eventually lives a healthy life.

It is imperative that anyone with SARS visit a hospital immediately. The best way to combat the symptoms is by keeping people in isolation and heavily monitoring their progress.

Ventilators often help get oxygen into your lungs, while alleviating the shortness of breath symptoms.

Antibiotics deal with any bacteria that may result from this virus, while antiviral medicines can lower the symptoms and help the virus pass through someone quicker. If someone is displaying a lot of swelling in their lungs, they are treated with steroids to alleviate this issue.

Unfortunately, these treatments only work on a case by case basis.

There is no scientific evidence that any of the above treatments are effective at eliminating the SARS virus, or ensuring someone does not die because of it.

SARS Virus Facts

When SARS first came to light, it started in China in late 2002. Unfortunately, the health authorities in the region were unable to control its spread, mostly because it took a few days to realize that a patient had this disease.

With the symptoms so similar to the common flu virus, the result was more than 8,000 cases throughout the world. More than 700 people passed away before anyone could get a handle on this virus.

SARS is typically started off in small mammals, which results in the possibility of infection for humans who come into contact with them.

The 2002-2003 spread of the virus saw it go from China to other Asian countries, such as Taiwan and Japan. The situation spread further to Europe, especially in the UK, and parts of North America.

Eventually, a process of isolating individuals with the virus helped to stop the spread by mid-2003.

In addition, airlines took the significant step of screening passengers to make sure they did not have the virus. This screening was especially common in Asian countries where the virus was heavily present.

SARS Prevention

While there is no certain way to prevent SARS if you come into contact with someone, there are steps you can take to significantly lower your risk of infection.

Here are some prevention tips for SARS, both for individuals who have the virus and for those who do not wish to get infected:

• Make sure you wash your hands after using the bathroom, ideally with a detergent that contains alcohol.

• Whenever you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth.

• Do not share food with others, even your loved ones.

• If there are any common areas in a house or apartment, especially kitchens, make sure you regularly wipe the surfaces with disinfectant spray.

• If you are worried about the spread of SARS in your area, it is vital that you wear an antibacterial facemask whenever you go outside. Make sure your family does the same thing. These facemasks are very useful at protecting you from other people’s germs and bacteria. If the virus is spreading in an airborne fashion, the mask makes it far less likely to infect you.