SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)

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 and the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak was contained. 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-CoV infection. All of these people had traveled to other parts of the world with SARS.

• CDC Information: SARS
• For Travelers

• Report suspect or confirmed cases IMMEDIATELY to the local health department by phone and follow up with written report.
• Fact Sheet
• In the Absence of SARS-CoV Transmission Worldwide: Guidance for Surveillance, Clinical and Laboratory Evaluation, and Reporting Ver. 2
• World Health Organization
• CDC Information for Clinicians

• Case Definition
• WVEDSS
• Case Report Form

• SARS Case Count, Worldwide