1. SARS

2. What is it? SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is a respiratory disease caused by the SARS coronavirus.

3. What are the symptoms? Initial symptoms are flu- like and may include: fever, lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms, cough, sore throat and other non- specific symptoms. The only symptom that is common to all patients appears to be a fever above 38 °C. Shortness of breath may occur later.

4. What are the symptoms? If a patient has a persistent fever over 38°C and has been in contact with someone with SARS or travelled to an area where SARS was prevalent (China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Ontario, Canada), then a chest x-ray looking for atypical pneumonia will be order. If positive, SARS it is.

5. How is it transmitted? Droplet contact through coughing or sneezing is the most common way the SARS virus is spread. Indirect contact from touching an object that has the SARS virus on it is the other way it is transmitted.

6. When did it become a problem? A moderate pandemic occurred between November 2002 and July 2003. There were 8000 some cases worldwide with 774 deaths. In Canada, there were 251 cases of SARS with 44 deaths (43 in Toronto).

7. Who is at risk? Anyone travelling to a region where SARS was prevalent. Anyone coming in contact with someone who has SARS.

8. Why should we be concerned? We should not be too concerned as of May 2006, the SARS coronavirus has been removed from the human population. However it is not termed eradicated yet as it still may be dormant in its animal hosts and there is some still in medical labs around the world.

9. What was the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Response? They put out an information pamphlet and SARS self-check sheet in May of 2003. Other than that they just monitored travelers coming from SARS areas (Quarantined if necessary) and monitored the spread of SARS in Canada.

10. How do we prevent ourselves from getting SARS? 1) Avoid travel to SARS infected areas, which at the moment is nowhere in particular. 2) Avoid contact with people showing signs of SARS. 3) Keep good personal hygiene.

11. What can I do if I already have SARS? Take respiratory treatment to alleviate the pneumonia (taking oxygen). There are no vaccines or anti-virals against the SARS coronavirus. Steroid puffers like those used for asthma have helped counter the symptoms, but do not cure the disease. Simply wait for it to pass naturally.