By Donald E. Low
Source NIH
Toronto’s experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) illustrated how quickly the disease can spread in hospitals and highlighted the dangerous phenomenon of SARS superspreaders (see Figure 1-1). Unrecognized cases in Toronto caused significant morbidity and mortality (see Tables 1-4 and 1-5). The absence of rapid tests to distinguish this new disease from pneumonia, influenza, or other common diseases bodes ill for future outbreaks. In the meantime, however, it is clear that a number of simple precautionary measures can significantly reduce hospital-based transmission of the SARS coronavirus, SCoV, during an outbreak.