Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

What is SARS?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome, commonly referred to as SARS, is a respiratory illness that is both contagious and sometimes fatal. SARS is a disease caused by the SARS corona virus (SARS-CoV). Corona viruses are a common form of virus that typically cause upper-respiratory tract illnesses in the majority of cases. Corona viruses are the family of viruses that are responsible for the common cold. Before the emergence of SARS, corona viruses had not been particularly dangerous to humans, although they had been known to cause severe diseases in animals. As a result, SARS-CoV was initially thought to have been transmitted from animals to humans; scientists now believe that an animal virus mutated into a new, more deadly strain.
SARS was first identified in China in November 2002 and within only a few months, the disease spread across the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by July 2003 a total of 8,437 people worldwide had become ill with SARS, leading to 813 deaths. Cases were reported in over 30 countries across five different continents. Strong levels

Such treatment includes the use of medications to reduce fever, as well as cough medicine to alleviate the symptoms. As with other infectious diseases, there are some simple steps that can be taken to help prevent the SARS virus from spreading. For example, good personal hygiene practices can help stop the spread of the virus: frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the eyes, mouth or nose with unclean hands, and covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Because SARS is contagious, once its symptoms have developed, it is important that people with the disease limit their interactions with other people until 10 days after their symptoms have improved. SARS is at its most contagious during the second week of