Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: SARS

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness caused by a virus. SARS was first reported in Asia in 2003. It spread worldwide over several months before the outbreak ended.

SARS can be life-threatening. Symptoms include

A high fever
Headache
Body aches
A dry cough
Pneumonia, later on

SARS seems to spread mainly by close person-to-person contact. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they send droplets of mucus or saliva that contain the virus through the air. You could get SARS if the droplets land on your mouth, nose or eyes. Kissing, touching, sharing utensils for eating and drinking, or talking with an infected person can also put you at risk. Frequently washing your hands with soap and water might help prevent infection if you travel to countries with SARS. There is no treatment for SARS. Scientists are testing treatments and vaccines.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

Basic Information about SARS(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/factsheet.htm
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/sars/

Overviews

SARS(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/sars/DS00501/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): Laboratory Diagnostic Tests(World Health Organization) - http://www.who.int/csr/sars/diagnostictests/en/

Prevention/Screening

Fact Sheet on Isolation and Quarantine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/isolationquarantine.htm
Guidance about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) for Americans Living Abroad(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/warden_notice.htm
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Infection Control(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/ic.htm

Specific Conditions

Fact Sheet for SARS Patients and Their Close Contacts(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/factsheetcc.htm

Related Issues

Advice on SARS and Potential for Food Transmission(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fssars.html
Questions and Answers on Embargo of Civets(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040113.htm
SARS Questions and Answers: Travel and Quarantine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/qa/travel.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Severe+Acute+Respiratory+Syndrome%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 3a protein activates the mitochondrial... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18632968&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Construction of a non-infectious SARS coronavirus replicon for application in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18619943&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Certainties and uncertainties facing emerging respiratory infectious diseases: lessons from... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18583213&tool=MedlinePlus
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=severe+acute+respiratory+syndrome[majr]+OR+SARS+virus[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
World Health Organization - http://www.who.int/en/

Law and Policy

Questions and Answers on Legal Authorities for Isolation and Quarantine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/quarantineqa.htm

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Pneumonia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pneumonia.html
Traveler's Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/travelershealth.html
Viral Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/viralinfections.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
Lungs and Breathing - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lungsandbreathing.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html