Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China caused an eventual 8,098 cases, resulting in 774 deaths reported in 17 countries (9.6% fatality rate), with the majority of cases in mainland China and Hong Kong. In late 2017, Chinese scientists traced the virus through the intermediary of civets to cave - dwelling horseshoe bats in Yunnan province. No cases of SARS have been reported worldwide since 2004. However, the related virus SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the ongoing 2019 –20 coronavirus pandemic.
Signs and symptoms
Initial symptoms are flu- like and may include fever, muscle pain, lethargy symptoms, cough, sore throat, and other nonspecific symptoms. The only symptom common to all patients appears to be a fever above 38 °C (100 °F). SARS may eventually lead to shortness of breath and pneumonia; either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia.The average incubation period for SARS is 4–6 days, although rarely it could be as short as 1 day or as long as 14 days.
Transmission
The primary route of transmission for SARS is contact of the mucous membranes with respiratory droplets or fomites. Whilst diarrhea is common in people with SARS, the fecal-oral route does not appear to be a common mode of transmission.
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