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Home » Cold-and-flu » Sars » SARS - Cause, Symptoms And Diagnosis
SARS, also known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, is a highly contagious
respiratory illness followed by very high fever, headache, and bodily
discomfort, dry cough that may lead to great difficulty in
breathing.
Cause and Symptoms : Diagnosis of SARS :
SARS is believed to be caused by a coronavirus, a type of
virus usually associated with pneumonia and the common cold. The virus is named
for the appearance in electron microscope images of a halo-like corona, or
crown, around its surface. The virus is transmitted from an infected person through
bodily secretions, usually droplets expelled by sneezing or coughing. After the
virus incubates for approximately one week, the illness appears with a fever
that remains above 38 °C (100.4 °F).
Aches and discomfort frequently accompany the fever, and
soon a dry cough appears. In a minority of patients, respiratory distress
progresses to the point where mechanical ventilation is necessary.
Diagnosis is made after other illnesses such as
pneumonia or influenza are ruled out and a history of the patient's movements
has established the likelihood of exposure to an infected person.
Since no specific medication is available against the SARS
coronavirus, treatment is usually restricted to easing the patient's symptoms
until the illness has run its course.A SARS patient is either quarantined or advised to remain
isolated, and all persons such as hospital workers or family members who come into
close contact with a patient must follow strict routines of cleanliness.
The patient is considered to be noninfectious 10 days after
the fever subsides. Researchers have yet to establish the long-term prospects
of recovered patients or the potential for recurrent epidemics, and a specific
vaccine has not been developed.
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