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Home › Articles › Toddler Health › SARS Wars

SARS Wars

Protecting Your Family

By Teri Brown

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"I don't think I'm paranoid, just cautious," says Diane Wolf of Ontario, Canada. She believes the small lifestyle changes she has made to protect her family from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are just common sense in a time of uncertainty. Wolf, the mother of three children, has canceled some business trips into Toronto and avoids large crowds. "We have had several people quarantined in my area, although none have actually been confirmed," says Wolf. "They were people who were possibly in contact with SARS victims."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2,722 SARS cases from 16 countries had been reported to the World Health Organization as of April 9, 2003, resulting in 106 deaths.

Understanding SARS
Dr. Paul Lewis, assistant professor of pediatrics and hospital epidemiologist for the Oregon Health and Sciences University, believes the most important factor people should understand about SARS is that international cooperation will both limit the spread of this new illness and lead to rapid identification of the likely cause. "Shared knowledge about transmission of the virus and its biology will lead to more effective methods to limit its spread and hopefully to better treatment options and maybe a vaccine," says Dr. Lewis.

In the meantime, Lewis believes that proper hygiene and adherence to the guidelines set forth by public health officials are the best way for the public to combat spreading SARS. "In the hospital we prevent spread of infections by preventing contagious patients from having contact with other patients and having health care workers carefully wash their hands before and after patient contact," says Dr. Lewis. "In addition, for SARS patients, health care workers wear gowns, gloves, eye protection and masks. If there were community transmission of SARS in the U.S., the public would need to carefully follow the recommendations of the county and state public health officials." However, thus far, there has been little, if any, community spread of SARS in the United States, says Dr. Lewis.

What About the Children?

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