.gif)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness
caused by a coronavirus, called SARS-associated
coronavirus (SARS-CoV).
SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. Over the next few
months, the illness spread to more than two dozen
countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before
outbreak was contained.
This fact sheet gives basic information about the illness and what CDC
has done to control SARS in the United States. To find
out more about SARS, go to CDC's SARS
website and WHO's SARS website.
The SARS outbreak of 2003
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 8,098
people worldwide became sick with SARS during the 2003
outbreak. Of these, 774 died. In the United States, only eight people
had laboratory evidence of SARS. All of these people
had traveled to other parts of the world with SARS. SARS did not spread
more widely in the community in the United States.
Symptoms of SARS
Generally, SARS begins with a high fever (temperature greater than
100.4°F). Other symptoms include headache, overall feeling
of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also have mild respiratory
symptoms on the outset. About 10 percent to 20 percent
of patients have diarrhea. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop
a dry cough. Most patients develop pneumonia.
How SARS spreads
The main way that SARS seems to spread is by close person-to-person
contact. The virus that causes SARS is thought to be
transmitted most readily by an infected person coughing or sneezing.
The cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled
a short distance (generally up to 3 feet) through the air and deposited
on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes
of persons who are nearby. The virus also can spread when a person
touches a surface or object contaminated with infectious
droplets and then touches his or her mouth, nose, or eye(s). In
addition, it's possible that the SARS virus might be airborne
spread or other ways that are not known.
