Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): A Global Impact
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 25, 2020
- Creator
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Smith, Wanda B.
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program
- Abstract
- On March 12, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). This is a deadly infectious disease with a rapid onset that is spread by person-to-person contact. WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immediately started an intense coordinated investigation that resulted in the identification of the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) as the causative agent (CDC, 2003a). By the time this outbreak was brought to an end, more than 8,000 cases and 780 deaths had been reported (CDC, 2004b). Numerous workers in the healthcare industry, laboratories, universities, and airports were among the morbidity and mortality statistics. As a result, occupational health professionals have been reminded of the necessity to develop policies and procedures to ensure surveillance, prompt recognition of infectious illnesses, immediate treatment, and protection of the workforce. The SARS outbreak illustrated the potential for a new disease to emerge and spread quickly in today's global economy where there is daily international travel and interaction. The emergence of SARS also allowed the world to see that traditional public health measures to control disease spread, including surveillance, infection control, isolation, and quarantine are productive and effective. It also demonstrated the necessity of preplanning for such disease outbreaks. The role of occupational and environmental health nurses was expanded to include more surveillance for the re-emergence of SARS or the emergence of new infectious diseases this year or next. The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) has assumed a leadership role in monitoring the emerging infectious diseases and issuing information to its members. WHO and CDC continue to be global leaders in the efforts to quickly identify newly emerging infectious diseases and find a vaccine for those infectious diseases already identified. Many other professional organizations are working to promote research in the field of infectious respiratory diseases.
- Date of publication
- May 2004
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Track: HC&P
- Paper type: Research or research design
- Advisor
- Randolph, Susan
- Reviewer
- Ostendorf, Judith
- Degree
- Master of Public Health
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2004
- Language
- Deposit record
- 564d1737-ca9b-4211-9c3e-c1926665c3df
- Date uploaded
- March 17, 2015
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