Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (cont.)
Medical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhDDr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications. Medical Editor:
John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP
John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEPJohn P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey. IN THIS ARTICLE
SARS CausesThe SARS virus is spread by close person-to-person contact. Transmission may occur by droplets produced when an infected person sneezes or coughs. Droplet spread can occur when airborne droplets, produced by a cough or sneeze, are deposited on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of a person up to 3 feet away. The virus can also be spread when a person touches a surface contaminated with the droplets. Oral-fecal transmission of SARS may also occur. Unprotected health care workers were at significant risk of acquiring the infection during the outbreak. SARS virus replicates in both the lungs and gastrointestinal tract tissues. However, tissue samples show the most damage occurs in the lung alveoli where lung function is compromised producing a severe breathing disorder often termed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Next Page: |
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) »
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening viral infection caused by a previously unrecognized virus from the Coronaviridae family.
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