SARS
SARS
Lisa Dumas
Western Governors University
SARS is a virus that affects the respiratory system. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is a severe form of pneumonia. This virus was first discovered in February of 2003 by a physician named Dr. Carl Urbani. During that year, 8,098 people became infected with the virus. Of this number, 774 people died. Tracing SARS back to its origin was tedious and time consuming for scientists. It is believed that the virus began in Guangdong province, China (CDC, 2011, p. xx). This is an area located near the Pearl River delta region of southern China which is a major manufacturing and export territory. Large amounts of people and goods pass through here and nearby Hong Kong. The issue with this area, scientists discovered, is that agriculture and industry is practiced much too close together. Chickens, pigs, ducks, and fish are all farmed together by villagers using traditional techniques. It is these techniques that provide unique opportunities for new and deadly strains of viruses and bacteria to transfer between species. In Guangdong, November 2002, people began to fall ill with a severe respiratory illness. The first recorded infection of SARS was a Chinese public servant in the textile town of Foshan, China. This person did recover from the illness but also passed it on to four other people. Six months later, the virus has affected 19 countries and made 2,800 people ill. SARS spread through Asia, Europe, and North America. The most fatalities, 100 in all by this time, were in China. The spread would continue. A physician, who had treated patients in Guandong, traveled to Hong Kong for a wedding and stayed in a hotel. This physician began showing signs of respiratory illness and shortly after, 9 people staying on the same floor of the hotel became ill with the virus. Now the disease had taken hold in Hong Kong. The physician responsible for the spread of the disease
Lisa Dumas
Western Governors University
SARS is a virus that affects the respiratory system. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is a severe form of pneumonia. This virus was first discovered in February of 2003 by a physician named Dr. Carl Urbani. During that year, 8,098 people became infected with the virus. Of this number, 774 people died. Tracing SARS back to its origin was tedious and time consuming for scientists. It is believed that the virus began in Guangdong province, China (CDC, 2011, p. xx). This is an area located near the Pearl River delta region of southern China which is a major manufacturing and export territory. Large amounts of people and goods pass through here and nearby Hong Kong. The issue with this area, scientists discovered, is that agriculture and industry is practiced much too close together. Chickens, pigs, ducks, and fish are all farmed together by villagers using traditional techniques. It is these techniques that provide unique opportunities for new and deadly strains of viruses and bacteria to transfer between species. In Guangdong, November 2002, people began to fall ill with a severe respiratory illness. The first recorded infection of SARS was a Chinese public servant in the textile town of Foshan, China. This person did recover from the illness but also passed it on to four other people. Six months later, the virus has affected 19 countries and made 2,800 people ill. SARS spread through Asia, Europe, and North America. The most fatalities, 100 in all by this time, were in China. The spread would continue. A physician, who had treated patients in Guandong, traveled to Hong Kong for a wedding and stayed in a hotel. This physician began showing signs of respiratory illness and shortly after, 9 people staying on the same floor of the hotel became ill with the virus. Now the disease had taken hold in Hong Kong. The physician responsible for the spread of the disease