SARS and Common Viral Infections
SARS and Common Viral Infections
In California, molecular testing was useful in decreasing suspicion for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by detecting common respiratory pathogens (influenza A/B, human metapneumovirus, picornavirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia spp., parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus) in 23 (45%) of 51 patients with suspected SARS and 9 (47%) of 19 patients with probable SARS.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has become the new paradigm for the global havoc that can be produced by an emerging infectious disease. As of July 31, 2003, a total of 8,096 probable SARS cases had been reported to the World Health Organization from 29 countries or areas, with 774 deaths and a case-fatality ratio of 9.6%. California was particularly affected by the SARS outbreak, reporting one-fifth of suspect or probable cases in the United States (15% of suspect SARS cases and 26% of probable SARS cases), with two serologically confirmed cases. In 2002, the California Unexplained Pneumonia (CUP) Project, a respiratory surveillance project that uses enhanced laboratory techniques to identify etiologic agents of severe pneumonia, was initiated at the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Emerging Infections Program. The CUP project's extensive diagnostic testing algorithm was applied to specimens submitted to CDHS for SARS testing.
In California, molecular testing was useful in decreasing suspicion for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by detecting common respiratory pathogens (influenza A/B, human metapneumovirus, picornavirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia spp., parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus) in 23 (45%) of 51 patients with suspected SARS and 9 (47%) of 19 patients with probable SARS.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has become the new paradigm for the global havoc that can be produced by an emerging infectious disease. As of July 31, 2003, a total of 8,096 probable SARS cases had been reported to the World Health Organization from 29 countries or areas, with 774 deaths and a case-fatality ratio of 9.6%. California was particularly affected by the SARS outbreak, reporting one-fifth of suspect or probable cases in the United States (15% of suspect SARS cases and 26% of probable SARS cases), with two serologically confirmed cases. In 2002, the California Unexplained Pneumonia (CUP) Project, a respiratory surveillance project that uses enhanced laboratory techniques to identify etiologic agents of severe pneumonia, was initiated at the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Emerging Infections Program. The CUP project's extensive diagnostic testing algorithm was applied to specimens submitted to CDHS for SARS testing.
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