Produced by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

THE SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME OUTBREAK – WHAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED?

  • Professor WK Lam, University of Hong Kong
  • Professor KWT Tsang, University of Hong Kong

Summary

The SARS outbreak was the first new infectious disease of the twenty-first century that posed a major threat to international health. Originating in southern China in November 2002, it rapidly spread worldwide and caused 774 deaths. In this article Prof Wah-kit Lam examines the lessons to be learned from this outbreak.

Key Points

  • SARS was the first new threat to international health from an infectious disease in the 21st century. 8098 cases occurred in 29 countries and there were 774 deaths (9.6%). Asian countries were primarily affected.
  • Medical and scientific professionals around the world showed the highest levels of dedication (several died) and co-operation in identifying the cause of and combating the disease.
  • Deficiencies in national awareness, sharing of information and public preparation to respond to such an emergency were revealed and will need to be corrected at international level.
  • Treatment of SARS remains anecdotal as controlled trials could not be held, but much information on the best ways of using corticosteroids and antivirals was obtained.
  • Epidemiological studies revealed a need for much more stringent animal husbandry to prevent animal-to-human spread of disease and genetic recombination or assortment of animal virus to produce new variants to infect humans.
  • Air travel showed that the whole world is at risk of infectious disease wherever it starts.

Declaration of interests: No conflict of interests declared

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