Certainties and uncertainties facing emerging respiratory infectious diseases: lessons from SARS.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Chen, Yee-Chun Chang, Shan-Chwen Tsai, Keh-Sung Lin, Fang-Yue
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	Every emerging infectious disease is a challenge to the whole of mankind. There are uncertainties regarding whether there will be a pandemic, if it will be caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus, when or where it will occur, how imminent or how severe it will be. No one can accurately predict if and when a given virus will become a pandemic virus. Pandemic prevention strategies must be based on preparing for the unexpected and being capable of reacting accordingly. There is growing evidence that infection control measures were helpful in containment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as well as avian influenza. Compliance of standard infection control measures, intensive promotion of hand and respiratory hygiene, vigilance and triage of patients with febrile illness, and specific infection control measures are key components to contain a highly contagious disease in hospital and to protect healthcare workers, patients and visitors. The importance of standard precautions for any patient and cleaning and disinfection for the healthcare environment cannot be overemphasized. SARS illustrated dramatically the potential of air travel and globalization for the dissemination of an emerging infectious disease. To prevent the potential serious consequences of pandemic influenza, timely implementation of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions locally within the outbreak area is the key to minimizing global spread. Herein, we relate our perspective on useful lessons derived from a review of the SARS epidemic that may be useful to physicians, especially when looking ahead to the next epidemic.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC7135137&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	09296646
Journal	Journal of the Formosan Medical Association [J Formos Med Assoc]
Volume Number	107
PubMed Central reference number	PMC7135137
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	18583213
e-ISSN	09296646
DOI	10.1016/s0929-6646(08)60150-3
Language	English
Publisher	Formosan Medical Association & Elsevier. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Publisher Date	2008-06-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active. Copyright © 2008 Formosan Medical Association & Elsevier. Published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
Subject Keyword	avian influenza emerging disease infection control pandemic SARS virus
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Medicine