Severe acute respiratory syndrome--retrospect and lessons of 2004 outbreak in China

To summarize lessons learned from an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China during the spring of 2004. Data of SARS cases were officially reported by Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (BCDC) and Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Preventi...

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Published inBiomedical and environmental sciences Vol. 19; no. 6; p. 445
Main Authors Liang, Wan-Nian, Zhao, Tao, Liu, Ze-Jun, Guan, Bao-Ying, He, Xiong, Liu, Min, Chen, Qi, Liu, Gai-Fen, Wu, Jiang, Huang, Ruo-Gang, Xie, Xue-Qin, Wu, Zheng-Lai
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published China 01.12.2006
Subjects
China - epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Humans
Male
Occupational Exposure - prevention & control
Occupational Health
Retrospective Studies
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - epidemiology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - prevention & control
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - transmission
China
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Summary:To summarize lessons learned from an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China during the spring of 2004. Data of SARS cases were officially reported by Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (BCDC) and Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (APCDC) and results of epidemiological investigations were collected and analyzed. Three generations of 11 cases of SARS were identified during the outbreak. Initial two cases were most likely to be infected in Diarrhea Virus Laboratory of National Institute of Virology, China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and main mode of transmission was direct contact with SARS patients. Delay in detecting initial case resulted in spread of the illness at hospitals and communities with two generations of secondary cases. SARS outbreak in 2004 has yielded following lessons for public health globally. (1) Lab bio-safety programs should be made and should be strictly abided by. Studies in highly pathogenic viruses such as SARS coronavirus should be utmost cautious. (2) Management systems of occupational exposure to virus and disease surveillance need to be strengthened to take all risk factors into account so as to detect potential patients with infectious disease as early as possible.
ISSN:0895-3988