SARS

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness that first infected people in parts of Asia, North America, and Europe in late 2002 and early 2003. SARS is caused by a type of coronavirus, which sometimes causes mild to moderate upper respiratory illness, such as the common cold. Most people get pneumonia. In some cases, these symptoms get worse very quickly.

The main symptoms of SARS are a fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing. A person with SARS also may experience a headache, muscle aches, a sore throat, fatigue, and diarrhea. An older person may feel generally unwell (malaise) and lose his or her appetite but not have a fever. For some people the symptoms get worse quickly, making a hospital stay necessary.

The incubation period—the time from when a person is first exposed to SARS until symptoms appear—is usually 3 to 7 days but may be as long as 10 days. Experts believe a person can spread the illness to others only while he or she has symptoms. As a precaution, though, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people who have SARS stay home, except for doctor visits, until 10 days after their symptoms have gone away.

Your doctor may suspect SARS if you have a fever and you either have traveled to a SARS-affected area or have in the past 10 days been around a person who has SARS.

Your doctor may order several tests to find out the cause of your symptoms. A chest X-ray may be done if you are short of breath or coughing. A blood sample, sputum sample, or nasal swab may be done to detect bacteria or viruses. Your doctor may suspect that you have SARS if tests rule out any other cause for your symptoms, especially if you had contact with someone who has SARS or you traveled to an area experiencing a SARS outbreak. In this case, blood tests may be done to detect substances in your blood (antibodies) that form to fight the SARS virus.

You will need at least two tests for antibodies done on separate days to confirm an infection. You also may have tests to detect the genetic material (RNA) of the SARS virus. RNA testing is not available everywhere.

Severe cases of SARS often require a hospital stay, especially if breathing problems develop. You will be placed in isolation to prevent passing the disease to others. There is no treatment that can cure SARS, but your symptoms will be treated to keep you as comfortable as possible.

• Be safe with medicines. Take your medicines exactly as prescribed. Call your doctor if you think you are having a problem with your medicine.
• Take an over-the-counter pain medicine, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve). Read and follow all instructions on the label.
• Do not take two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor told you to. Many pain medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful.