SARS Disease Analysis

SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a disease that causes distress in the respiratory system. According to Gonzalez-Gompf (2013), SARS is most easily spread via close person-to-person contact through the respiratory droplets that may come into contact with skin or mucous membranes. Those who become ill with the disease will typically exhibit symptoms within a week of exposure, up until that point, symptoms can resemble that of the normal Influenza A virus. Typically the initial symptoms are not greeted with a diagnosis unless the patient was potentially exposed to SARS 10 days before the onset.

The incident in Hong Kong reported on by Hunt (2013) documented a SARS outbreak that ultimately infected 8096 people and killed 744. The fact that Hong Kong is a rather large and condensed city played a significant role in the speed at which SARS was spread. According to Hui, Chan, Wu, and Ng (2004), SARS originated from Southern China in 2002. One of the epidemiological indicators for SARS appears to be areas in which many people are close to one another. Since the disease is passed through the exhalation of breath almost exclusively thus far, being in close, confined spaces where other people are breathing would be a contributing factor to the spread of the disease. In the case of SARS, the outbreak was rather sudden and took advantage of the high rate of transmission present in Hong Kong due to the extremely crowded conditions of the city. Much of the fears associated with this particular disease and outbreak can be seen in the fact that currently, everyday citizens are wearing face masks to cut back on respiratory infections.

The transmission of SARS is most often facilitated by being close to someone who is infected with the disease. Those merely breathing onto one's skin, or inhaling immediately after they have exhaled can create the potential for an infection. This is an airborne disease that appears to have no trouble surviving long enough to move from one host to another. This vector of infection created the need for the world's medical community to take notice to combat the disease.

Shaw (2007) noted that the response to SARS was anything but modern, and 19th Century tactics were employed to reign in the disease. To this end, the disease was combated via the isolation of infected patients in their homes, where they remained until they had either recovered or died from the disease. It was determined that this approach would be the most appropriate course of action after world health experts examined the disease.

A SARS outbreak in my community would not be nearly as prolific as the one that occurred in Hong Kong, but that is because my community is much more sparsely populated. It would appear that much of the reason SARS hit Hong Kong so hard is that the city had a high population that was always close to one another. An airborne disease has a whole lot more opportunities to infect the population in Hong Kong due to public transportation, cramped streets, cramped offices and many other environments that are a perfect opportunity for the disease to move on.

Unlike Hong Kong, if SARS were to begin spreading in the United States it would be possible to quickly diagnose the disease because the medical facilities are superior to those in Hong Kong. Having state-of-the-art facilities in which a disease can be analyzed and then addressed with established protocols would cut down on the number of lives that would be lost. Having hospitals and medical facilities that are proactive in terms of catching outbreaks early could mean that is a good chance of being able to diagnose a disease before it causes an outbreak. These policies could go very far in catching a local SARS outbreak before it claims too many lives.

Having a SARS outbreak in a community that is very well-connected with one another means that news will spread fast. A population that keeps close tabs on one another will be a lot more likely to be made aware if something is amiss. The effect on the community would be felt a lot more than it would be in a large city though because each person lost would be felt much more than in a large place such as Hong Kong. An outbreak of SARS would leave the community feeling a tremendous sense of fear and loss, and probably cause a good deal of hysteria.

If the number of deaths rose high enough fast enough there could be looting and rioting, and the chance of martial law being declared. People will behave in very unpredictable ways when they are confronted with the possibility of being infected with a deadly disease. There could be a run on food at the grocery store, and emergency services such as police and paramedics would be in short supply. The overall stress being placed upon the community could end up being enough to cause long-term changes in policy, comfort level and the overall identity of the city itself.

The economic fallout for my city could end up being huge due to the inherent fear most people would have of being infected with a deadly disease. Investors and businesses could see the city as being something to be avoided, and this could result in the city entering into a downward spiral. Even if the loss of life is non-existent or minimized, the impact on the city itself would be remarkably severe. It seems as if the city would recover from the outbreak a lot sooner than the city's image would recover.

References

Gomez-Gompf, S. (n.d.). Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In MedicineNet.com. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.medicinenet.com/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_sars/article.htm

Hui, D., Chan, M., & Ng, P. (2004, February 26). Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): Epidemiology and clinical features. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://pmj.bmj.com/content/80/945/373.full

Hunt, K. (2013, March 19). SARS legacy still felt in Hong Kong, 10 years on. BBC News. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-21680682

Shaw, J. (2007, April 5). The SARS scare: A cautionary tale of emerging disease caught in the act. Harvard Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from https://harvardmagazine.com/2007/03/the-sars-scare.html