Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS).

This page is designed to keep local citizens informed and up to date regarding SARS. Below is some basic information about SARS. The Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization web sites have comprehensive and up to date information on this illness including a case counts.

Symptoms of SARS
In general, SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F [>38.0°C]. Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.

Suspect vs. probable:
"Suspect is someone who has traveled recently to one of the affected areas, or had recent close contact with a person who has SARS, and then develops symptoms of 100.4 or greater fever dry cough, shortness of breath, and other nonspecific viral symptoms like muscle aches and fatigue. "Probable" is someone who meets the suspect criteria, plus shows X-ray evidence of infection of the lungs.

How SARS spreads
The primary way that SARS appears to spread is by close person-to-person contact. Most cases of SARS have involved people who cared for or lived with someone with SARS, or had direct contact with infectious material (for example, respiratory secretions) from a person who has SARS. Potential ways in which SARS can be spread include touching the skin of other people or objects that are contaminated with infectious droplets and then touching your eye(s), nose, or mouth. This can happen when someone who is sick with SARS coughs or sneezes droplets onto themselves, other people, or nearby surfaces. It also is possible that SARS can be spread more broadly through the air or by other ways that are currently not known.

Who is at risk for SARS
Most of the U.S. cases of SARS have occurred among travelers returning to the United States from other parts of the world with SARS. There have been very few cases as a result of spread to close contacts such as family members and health care workers. Currently, there is no evidence that SARS is spreading more widely in the community in the United States.

Web Sites:
Center of Disease Control
World Health Organization