Scientists move closer to unraveling SARS

Not since the advent of antibiotics has an outbreak of disease given rise to so much international concern. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has swept much of Asia and is spreading throughout North America with documented cases in both Canada and the United States.

The name of this new disease demonstrates the shroud of obscurity that surrounds it — described vaguely by signs and symptoms rather than by association with a specific pathogen or vector.

The first documented cases of SARS occurred over a month ago in various regions of mainland China. Since then, both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued extensive warnings against travel to China's Guangdong province and Hong Kong, two hotspots of the global SARS outbreak.

Though the exact cause of SARS remains unknown, scientists at the CDC have identified a previously undocumented corona-virus in patients exhibiting symptoms consistent with SARS.

The corona-virus is so named because it looks like a crown (corona) when viewed under a microscope.

Corona-viruses have been known to cause common colds and mild upper-respiratory illnesses in humans, but a new strain is being investigated in an effort to better understand what is causing the epidemic. Since the new corona-virus cannot be exclusively linked to SARS, the WHO is sponsoring a wide range of studies to ensure that all possible avenues of infection are considered.

On the road to developing possible treatments and diagnostic methods for SARS, scientists have recently sequenced the genome of the suspected corona-virus. The CDC, yesterday, became the second institution to post the virus's genomic sequence on the Internet, after a Vancouver laboratory revealed the virus's genetic code on Saturday.

Though the majority of SARS cases continue to surface in China, with at least 3,169 suspected cases and 96 deaths so far, the epidemic has also surfaced in North America with 230 cases in Canada and 149 in the United States.

The North American outbreak is believed to have begun in Toronto when resident Sui-chu Kwan returned home from a visit to Hong Kong. Kwan died at her Toronto home Mar. 5 and her son died in a hospital Mar. 13. An unrelated man who shared a room with Kwan at the hospital died soon after, on Mar. 21.

Since then, the city of Toronto has increased its response to the epidemic and opened multiple 24-hour clinics to treat the disease. Hospitals have also closed their doors in an unprecedented effort to prevent the spread of the mysterious epidemic.

"Originally, screening was done for patients and staff but dramatic measures were taken to ensure that the virus did not spread. Such measures involved sending home all nonessential staff, shutting down clinics and drastically limiting the number of visitors to allow only critically ill patients or young children to have visitors," said Michelle Chow, a scientist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.

As Toronto remains the hub for most commercial exchange between Canada and the United States, there is little mystery as to how the epidemic has now caused cases as far south as Florida.

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In light of CDC and WHO warnings, the University has issued a "temporary travel moratorium" on all University-sponsored travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam. The moratorium does not apply to programs already underway, including study abroad, but is expected to affect the summer plans of several undergraduates planning to study in the affected regions of Asia.

There are currently several hundred international collaborations underway to try to determine the precise cause of SARS and how best to contain the widespread epidemic through policy and prevention methods.

Amid fears of a summer similar to last, with the West Nile virus continuing to spread, children and the elderly are now more susceptible to contracting one of the several epidemics that are establishing a global foothold.

To slow the spread of the disease until suitable treatments can be developed, health officials recommend avoiding visits to people with colds or flu-like symptoms and suggest staying away from hospitals unless visits are absolutely necessary.

A defining symptom of SARS is that it interferes with breathing while causing other, flu-like symptoms. "It starts with a fever, which becomes a high fever, mild respiratory symptoms, coughing and eventually shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, which then becomes severe and then needs medical attention," said Dr. Bhagirath Singh, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in a recent Toronto Star interview.

Those who suspect they have been infected with SARS, and present with the symptoms described above, are urged to seek medical treatment immediately and try to isolate themselves from family members to prevent spreading the illness.

As to how SARS is currently being managed, "at this point, there is no known cure," Health Canada said in a recent press release, as hundreds, all over the continent, have undergone "voluntary quarantine" to protect their families.