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Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) |
The following lessons from the global experience with SARS surveillance
have been considered in developing this document:
- Astute
healthcare providers will likely be the key to early detection and
reporting of initial cases of SARS-CoV disease.
- The
key to recognizing persons with SARS-CoV disease is identification
of an epidemiologic link of exposure to another case of SARS-CoV
disease or to a setting (e.g., hospital) where SARS-CoV transmission
is occurring.
- Screening
criteria for epidemiologic linkages need to reflect 1) the status of SARS-CoV transmission globally and the risk of exposure from
international and domestic travel, and 2) the status of SARS activity
in the community, at the work site, or in other settings where a
patient with SARS-like illness may have been.
- In
a setting of extensive SARS-CoV transmission, the possibility of
SARS-CoV disease should be considered in all persons with a fever
or lower respiratory illness, even if an epidemiologic link cannot
be readily established.
- Healthcare
facilities were disproportionately affected by SARS-CoV, and healthcare
workers were among the first and most severely affected groups
in every large outbreak reported.
- Contact
tracing is resource intensive yet critical to containment efforts
since it allows early recognition of illness in persons at greatest
risk.
- Collection
of appropriate and timely clinical specimens for laboratory testing
is central to monitoring the status of SARS-CoV transmission
at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Timely
reporting of cases, updates on the clinical status and disposition
of patients, real-time analysis of data, and timely dissemination
of information are essential for outbreak-management decisions.
- Paper-based
reporting systems are too slow and labor intensive to manage
a large SARS outbreak. A rapid and efficient electronic reporting
system that facilitates real-time analysis of clinical, epidemiologic,
and laboratory information at the local level is essential.
- Frequent
communication and data sharing among public health officials
and healthcare providers are needed to update the status of potential
and confirmed cases of SARS-CoV disease.
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