CIA Transnational Health and Economic Activities - Other Diseases of Concern - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has been overcome, but SARS has not been eradicated. Although WHO declared on 5 July that all transmission chains of SARS had been broken, many health experts fear it could return again in the fall when cooler temperatures return in temperate areas. We remain vulnerable.

The major concerns include:

  • The possible presence of animal reservoirs of the coronavirus that causes SARS
  • lack of a reliable diagnostic test
  • lack of a vaccine for eradication.
  • If a resurgence of SARS this winter coincides with the annual outbreak of influenza, identifying and isolating suspected SARS cases will be much more difficult. SARS also could mutate, altering the symptoms, transmissibility, or lethality of the disease.
  • As the first line of defense, healthcare systems and workers are particularly vulnerable. Moreover, most wealthy countries have little recent experience implementing large-scale quarantine and isolation programs, and poor countries already have inadequate health surveillance and infection control procedures.

The emergence of SARS illustrates the challenge of battling infectious diseases in an increasingly globalized world. Global links have sped the geographic spread of the disease and amplified the economic and political impact.

Read more about this topic:  CIA Transnational Health And Economic Activities, Other Diseases of Concern

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