|
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
is a serious form of pneumonia, resulting in acute respiratory
distress and sometimes death. It is a dramatic example of how
quickly world travel can spread a disease. It is also an example of
how quickly a networked health system can respond to an emerging
threat. This contagious
respiratory infection was first described on February 26, 2003. SARS
was identified as a new disease by World Health Organization (WHO)
physician Dr. Carlo Urbani. He diagnosed it in a 48-year-old
businessman who had traveled from the Guangdong province of China,
through Hong Kong, to Hanoi, Vietnam. The businessman died from the
illness. Dr. Urbani subsequently died from SARS on March 29, 2003 at
the age of 46.
In the meantime, SARS was spreading,
and within 6 weeks of its discovery, it had infected thousands of
people around the world, including people in Asia, Australia, Europe,
Africa, and North and South America. Schools had closed throughout
Hong Kong and Singapore. National economies were affected.
The WHO had identified SARS as a
global health threat, and issued an unprecedented travel advisory.
Daily WHO updates tracked the spread of SARS seven days a week. It
wasn't clear whether SARS would become a global pandemic, or would
settle into a less aggressive pattern.
The rapid, global public health
response helped to stem the spread of the virus, and by June 2003,
the epidemic had subsided to the degree that on June 7 the WHO
backed off from its daily reports. Nevertheless, even as the number
of new cases dwindled, and travel advisories began to be lifted, the
sober truth remained: every new case had the potential to spark
another outbreak. SARS appears to be here to stay, and to have
changed the way that the world responds to infectious diseases in
the era of widespread international travel. |
