Question

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Chlamydia

What population does this disease affect most? Discuss what you think can be done to prevent further increase in this disease.

Answer 1

SARS:

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness caused by a virus called SARS associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)..

SARS-CoV is thought to have passed from animals to humans through close contact, butchering or eating undercooked meat in parts of southern China.

Such a convergence likely occurred during late 2002 in southern China, where merchants and farmers took small wild mammals from their native environments to local markets and sold both slaughtered and live animals for human consumption.

Prevention:

Preventing SARS is similar to preventing any viral respiratory infection. The best way to prevent infections include avoiding close contact with affected individuals. Using good hand washing with soap and water is important. Encourage people with viral respiratory infections to cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing.

With SARS, stricter measures are needed. Because patients with SARS are usually hospitalized, the healthcare team will take care to ensure these proper ways to prevent spread of infection to visitors, other patients and hospital staff.

People are more likely to spread the SARS virus to others after they have started having symptoms. People are most contagious between 7 and 10 days after symptoms begin, but people can continue to shed the virus, and thus continue to be contagious for another 2 weeks.

Patients with SARS should avoid contact with other people as much as possible until 10 days after their symptoms have resolved. The virus can survive on surfaces for as long as 6 days. It can be killed by washing with bleach or other household detergents.

Chlamydia:

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease. It is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. It can infect both men and women. Women can get chlamydia in the cervix, rectum, or throat. Men can get chlamydia in the urethra (inside the penis), rectum, or throat.

Chlamydia is most commonly sexually transmitted. It can also be passed on from a pregnant mother to her unborn child, causing eye infections and even pneumonia. It is most commonly transmitted through sexual activity. Thus, Chlamydia is more common in young people, especially young women.

Prevention:

1. The only 100% prevention free way to not get chlamydia is to abstain from sexual activity.

2. Ways to reduce the risk factors are: using condoms during every sexual encounter, limiting the number of sex partners, and undergoing regular screenings