Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome:

The First Emerging Disease of the 21st Century

Introduction

On March 12^th, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert regarding the high numbers of cases of atypical pneumonia, a disease of the lungs that can be caused by viruses or bacteria.  The cases originated in southern China in November 2002, and the etiological agent (virus or bacteria that caused the pneumonia) was unknown.

By mid-February, cases began appearing outside of southern China:  first in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China, and in Hanoi, Viet Nam.  Within days of the March 12^th global alert, cases were being reported in Singapore and Canada, and one infected person was removed in Germany from an airline flight from New York to Singapore.  Officials were alarmed at the rate at which the disease, now known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), spread by air travel and among health care workers.

On March 27^th, the WHO reported that several studies indicated that a new virus was the cause of SARS.  Governments around the world began to focus on containing the disease before it could spread to all people throughout the world.  Their efforts resulted in the containment of the first major outbreak of the 21^st century. 

 

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