Essay Sars
Submitted by freefortermpapers on 06/24/2008 03:00 PM
- Category: Business
- Words: 318
- Pages: 2
- Views: 37
- Popularity Rank: 27
Essay Sars
An epidemiologist is to observe the outbreak of a disease and its distribution pattern in a defined population. Through logical deduction and rational interpretation can a conclusion then be formed for such a phenomenon. From the spread of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Guangdong and Hong Kong during the past 3-4 months with sporadic cases reported in Taiwan, Hanoi, Singapore, and Toronto, we can conclude that the route of transmission is limited to face-to-face droplet infection and direct individual contact. There is as yet no proof of airborne infection. Such a conclusion is reached by the fact that the infected cases were mainly medical and nursing personnel in the hospital, as well as those visiting relatives and friends who had close contact with the infected hospital inmates.In Taiwan, a businessman and four staff of a local company had already contracted the infection for many days before being sent to the National Taiwan University Hospital. During the period before treatment and isolation, they had been exposed to many medical and nursing personnel (for four days in the case of the businessman) yet none of the care providers were infected. This is another indication that infectiousness may only occur at a later stage. Some may argue that there are only one or two severe cases among hundreds or thousands of people with SARS. This goes against common sense in medicine. For a new mutant virus, against which humans have not developed immunity, 60-70% of those who are in contact with it should manifest the disease. This is evidenced by the fact that among those medical and nursing staff as well as relatives who had been in close contact with the infected individuals, over 50% of them unexpectedly developed the disease. This could indicate the high virulence and pathogenicity of this virus. It is therefore implausible for some academics to talk about the prevalence of one in thousands or one in hundreds.
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