1. Take the MRSA Quiz!
2. Strep or Sore Throat Slideshow Pictures
3. Infectious Mononucleosis Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. 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.

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Medical Editor:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John 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.

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Initial tests for people thought to have SARS include the following:

• Chest X-ray films
• Pulse oximetry (a test in which a probe connected to a computer is placed on the finger or ear to measure oxygen saturation in the blood)
• Blood cultures
• Sputum (fluid from the respiratory tract) Gram stain and culture
• If SARS virus infection is suspected, the CDC should be notified; the CDC has specialized tests (RT-PCR and EIA) to identify the virus. These tests are not usually available to most laboratories although some state labs may have availability.
• Testing for viral agents such as influenza A, influenza B, bird flu, West Nile virus, anthrax, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may be done to rule out these problems or infections that may be confused with SARS, especially if there is no initial suspicion that the problem is caused by SARS and if SARS testing is not readily available.
• Urinary antigen testing for Legionella and pneumococcal species (two causes of bacterial pneumonia)