Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, is caused by a newly discovered virus that is related to the common cold. It is characterized by a fever of 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and symptoms of pneumonia. It can be mistaken for the common community-acquired pneumonia that is treated with antibiotics. Individuals with SARS, however, may have respiratory failure and die. Clinically, it can be difficult to identify someone with SARS. But, in SARS cases, doctors have found that patients either had contact with someone already known to have SARS or had traveled to an endemic area. The precise route of transmission has not been well-defined, but the virus is thought to pass from person to person through the air. SARS emerged last fall in Southeast Asia. It probably spread from an animal, like a chicken or pig, to humans. Such animals can harbor respiratory viruses that have been shown to travel between species. The close proximity of humans and animals in this part of the world, particularly China, helped facilitate that transfer of the virus. SARS infections were not immediately recognized in some places, and people traveling from Asia to Toronto brought the virus to Canada. It’s a modern world problem. You can get on a plane in Beijing and touch down on another continent 12 to 14 hours later. If you’ve been exposed to SARS, you might unknowingly bring it with you. It’s easy to see how it can be transferred from point A to point B. But to my knowledge, every case of SARS can be traced back to southeast Asia. It is unlikely that you will see a similar illness transferred from Minnesota pigs or chickens to people. The standards by which animals are kept and slaughtered are different here compared to rural China. In addition, the public health infrastructure in the United States, especially in Minnesota, is better equipped to recognize and contain an infection like SARS. It is too soon to say what will happen with this outbreak. One of two scenarios, though, is likely to play out. SARS may be a seasonal virus. The number of new cases may decrease over the next month and the infection might reemerge next fall. That lull would give the scientific community more time to evaluate SARS and develop antibody tests and methods for treatment. If it isn’t seasonal, and we see continued spread of SARS infections in China, it may be tough to contain. How we talk about SARS in six months depends largely on what happens over the next few weeks. Timothy Schacker is an associate professor of medicine and director of the infectious disease clinic at the U of M. To learn more about skin cancer, visit
The 4-1-1 on SARS
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