SARS Essay

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory sickness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV. Researchers believe it originated from the Guangdong province in southern China. SARS was first reported in Asia on February 2003 by a man from Hanoi. He developed numerous breathing problems which led to him being dependent on ventilator support. Within a few months the virus had spread to over two dozen countries in North America, South American, Europe, and Asia.

SARS is a disease that affects the respiratory tract which enables you to breathe. The symptoms you get from SARS are very similar to the flu. You experience high fever, headaches, weakness, dry coughs, and breathing difficulties. Similar to catching a cold, SARS is spread through saliva caused by coughing or sneezing. The way that a person catches SARS is by close contact with an infected person. An infected person can infect people with a three foot radius by coughing or sneezing.

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The droplets from the cough or sneeze are propelled through the air and deposited on the mucus membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of the people nearby (CDC). SARS also can be spread by someone touching a surface that is contaminated with the virus and then touching their mouth, eyes, or nose (CDC). According to CDC, specific details of close contact that can result in catching SARS are as follows: having cared for or lived with someone with SARS. Examples of close contact include kissing or hugging, sharing eating or drinking utensils, talking to someone within three feet, and touching someone directly. Close contact does not include activities such as walking by a person or sitting across a waiting room or office for a brief time.
According to the World Health Association (WHO), 8,098 people became infected with SARS during its outbreak in 2003. Out of those 8,098 people that caught the virus, 774 died. In the United States, there were 192 cases of SARS. Most of these cases were from people traveling from other parts of the world. There were a very few cases in the United States compared to the rest of the world.

Even though SARS has not taken a major effect on the US, certain precautions due to the virus have become evident. The quarantine of thousands of residents in Toronto has put U.S. employers on alert. Some companies are taking steps to prevent exposure and to keep business flowing in the rare case that here is a major outbreak of the virus on our homeland. Some US businesses are going as far as quarantining company travelers, adding SARS policies to employee handbooks, and moving inventory to Europe to keep supplies flowing (Armour). The company Hallmark Cards asks its employees that have traveled to areas that are infected with SARS to check with the medical depart so they can have their temperature taken. Another company named Danfoss, which is an industrial controls manufacturer, has been moving inventory to Europe and North America—creating a reserve stock that can be used to supply clients (Armour). Mykrolis, a semiconductor firm, has a policy that requires that their workers that have been to affected areas to stay away from the office. Stuart Tison, a vice president in Allen, Texas, who traveled to Asia in May, was forced to be on ten day quarantine and worked from home (Armour). In China, he went to meetings wearing face masks and had to document every person that he met with that day.
Even though the cases of SARS in the US are very little; it still effects international business transactions with infected areas. About $1.2 billion in trade crosses the US-Canadian border every day, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (Armour).

Another way that SARS has affected the United States is by travel. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, about 20% of employers have reported cutbacks in business travel because of SARS, and 12% have received literature about SARS. “It’s important to make sure our employees know we’re somewhat prepared,” says Yvonne Ramirez-Lesce, human resources vice president (Armour).

According to the Canadian Press, if another outbreak of SARS happens; fewer people would have to be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease. Canadian experts say if the disease returns it is unlikely there would be a repeat of the mass quarantining of contacts that sent an estimated 27,000 people in Toronto into quarantine (CP).

The question is: does SARS pose a major threat to America? The answer is no. If countries like Canada, who were affected by its impact massively, are not concerned, then why should we be? Unless a terrorist purposely releases a SARS outbreak, we won’t be affected by it. “There’s no doubt at all that…no matter who’s doing it or where in Canada, we won’t be using as much quarantine as we were in the first outbreak,” says Dr. Allison McGeer, an infection control specialist at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital who contracted SARS in the early days of the outbreak (CP). Comparing the SARS cases in America to the SARS cases in Canada, if they can contain it there, and not think of it as a big issue, then we shouldn’t even consider it a danger to American soil.

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