Preventing the Spread of SARS
By Dr. Keith Woeltje, Hospital Epidemiologist
MCG Health System

Augusta, Ga. -- Nearly 3,000 people in 20 countries have been infected by SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, with the numbers rising daily. Closer to home, it's believed that two individuals in Atlanta, both of whom recently returned from trips to China, have been infected with SARS.

Researchers are now 90 percent certain that SARS is caused by a variant of the same respiratory virus that causes the common cold (the Coronavirus). It is a contagious infection, and may be spread by sneezing, coughing and direct contact. At last count, about four percent of those infected with SARS have died of the infection.

Thanks to innovations in transportation, viruses such as these can travel more quickly than ever, and it is vital that we act to protect our communities and prevent the spread of this virus.

We are therefore making the following recommendations to physicians, hospitals and the public, based on information available from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization:

• The most common symptoms associated with the infection are a
  fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, muscle aches, chills, rigors
  and rapidly progressive lower respiratory tract disease, manifested
  by a dry cough and difficulty in breathing. You should visit your
  physician or local emergency room to be screened for the infection
  if you exhibit these symptoms and have recently returned from a
  country where SARS has been reported (for example, China,
  Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong), or if you have been in contact
  with someone who has these symptoms and recently returned from
  one of these countries. Physicians should also be aware of these
  risk factors and screen their patients accordingly.
• Children seem to develop a less severe form of the disease, but it is
  important that they be screened as well if they fit the above
  criteria, due to the contagious nature of the disease.
• Physicians should isolate these patients and their accompanying
  family members in a patient room or, preferably, a negative
  pressure isolation room as soon as possible.
• Health care providers attending to the patient should wear
  protective gear, including a mask, eye shield, gown and gloves
  prior to patient contact.
• If a physician determines that a patient requires hospitalization, he
  or she should contact the local hospital and forewarn them so all
  the necessary infection control precautions can be taken.
• Physicians and/or hospitals should inform the local health
  department as soon as possible.
• If a patient does not require hospitalization, family members are
  requested to keep the patient at home without exposure to the
  public for 10 days or until a diagnosis is made, whichever comes
  first.
• Those with an appropriate travel or exposure history, who do not
  exhibit symptoms, do not have to take any special precautions.
  Persons who do not have symptoms have not been found to
  spread the disease.

Like any infection, SARS is spread primarily through contact. The proper preventive measures can go a long way toward protecting the public from contracting this illness and causing a local epidemic.

MCG Health System is composed of MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Hospitals and Clinics, Children's Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by offering the highest level of primary and specialty health care.

Note to editors: Dr. Keith Woeltje is available for interview on this topic.

For more information on SARS, consult the CDC web site.