Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: The Modern Day Plague

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: The Modern Day Plague

The human body consists of several vital organs; one of these organs is the respiratrory system. The respiratory system is made up of the organs that involve breathing and consists of the nose, pharynx, trachea, bronci, and the lungs. There are many types of respiratory infections such as pnumenia and influenza.

One of the newest types of respiratory infections is severe acute respiratory syndrome known to the world as SARS. The SARS disease mimics the diseases of pneumonia and influenza making detecting the disease hard. When the disease spread it had impacts on China, Hong Kong, and Canada.

What is SARS.

According to the article Severe acute respiratory syndrome n.d. the SARS disease is the same as pneumonia but it is a more serious form of it which is caused by a virus discovered in 2003 that can cause severe respiratory problems while breathing pg. 1. Researchers Peiris and Yven 2004 ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS was caused by a previously unrecognized animal cornavirus that exploted opportunities provided by ‘wet markets’ in southern China to adapt to become a virus readily transmissible between humans’ p. 2.

Coronavirus

According to the article Coronaviruses 2009. This virus was first discovered in chickens in 1937, but it has now been discovered that there are about fifteen species in the viruse family. These species include humans, cattle, pigs, rodents, cats, dogs, and birds p. 1. Coronaviruses 2009 states that this virus infects different types of mammals and birds. In humans the virus can cause respiratory infections, entenic infections, and neurological syndromes p. 1. According to Coronaviruses 2009 ‘conornavirus infection is very ...

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... Even though management will be based on clinical and epidemiological assessment p. 4.

‘At the time of presentation, routine hematological and biochemical test findings are elevated lactic dehydrogenase levels, and elevated creatine phosphokianse levels have been observed Christian, 2004, p. 4. Christian 2004 states that laboratory features of other causes of pneumonia, no test is sufficient enough to alter the pretest of probability of SARS p. 4.

Pulmonary features

According to researchers Hui and Sung n.d. SARS has common features with other causes of pneumonia viewed on radiographs. When fever first appears about eighty percent of patients with the SARS disease have abnormal chest radiographs; all of the radiographs show airspace consolidation. Eventually there will be airway opacities during the course of the disease in all SARS patients p. 3.

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