 |
Q1) What are the symptoms?
Q2) How fast does SARS spread?
Q3) Is there a treatment or vaccine?
Q4) What can I do to protect myself?
| Q1) What are the symptoms? |
|
The disease spreads from person to person. It often begins with a high fever, headache and sore throat. Other possible symptoms include loss of appetite, confusion, rash and diarrhea. Not everyone has reacted the same way.
The WHO said doctors are on the lookout for those symptoms with:
• a fever over 38 C AND
• cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing AND
• close contact with someone diagnosed with SARS or a history of travel to affected areas, including Toronto, Vancouver, Guangdong province in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam.
The respiratory symptoms appear two to seven days after exposure.
Health officials in Ontario say relying on exposure to known contacts of cases is no longer reliable. All respiratory illnesses should be treated as SARS until proven otherwise.
|
| Q2) How fast does SARS spread ? |
|
SARS appears to be less infectious than influenza. The incubation period is short, estimated to range from 2-7 days, with 3-5 days being more common. However, the speed of international travel creates a risk that cases can rapidly spread around the world.
|
| Q3) Is there a treatment or vaccine? |
|
There is no vaccine. There is also no specific antiviral treatment designed to treat Sars. However, a cocktail of antivirals and antibiotics appears to be beneficial if treatment is started early. In some cases of Sars pneumonia has developed, with patients finding it very hard to breathe - some have required artificial ventilation in hospital.
|
| Q4) What can I do to protect myself? |
|
Some people in east Asia have taken to wearing face masks, but it is unclear exactly how much protection they offer against viral particles.
Professor John Oxford, a virology expert from Queen Mary's College in London, told BBC News Online: "There's not much you can do to avoid this, unless you go and live as a hermit.
|
 |
|
|
