SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes acute respiratory tract infection in patients of all ages and is one of the most popular diseases of childhood. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, which manifests primarily as bronchiolitis and/or viral pneumonia, is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract (LRT) infection in infants and young children. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia in children under one year of age in the United States. During the first year of life, most infants are infected with the virus. Most RSV infected children encounter

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has a seasonal and yearly incidence, usually between November and April. It is responsible for high infant morbidity and mortality worldwide.. By the first year of life, 60% of children are infected, and almost 100% are infected by 2 years of age. (Saso,&Kampmann,2016). The more common age for hospitalizations occur between 2-3 months of age, and is the leading cause of infants being hospitalized in the developed world, accounting for 2 % of admissions during the winter season. (geerdink,Pillay,Meyalard,2015). The natural RSV infection in those younger than 6 months does not adequately develop a long-lasting immunological response, making reoccurrence of infection likely to reoccur. RSV is an infection that causes cold-like illness that can also cause otitis media, rhinitis, bronchitis, croup, and, pneumonia. Although RSV can cause different reactions, Bronchiolitis is the most common form of occurrence in the pediatric population. This virus is very caustic to the respiratory lining for vulnerable infants, that it increases the risk for respiratory diseases in later years of childhood.

Respiratory Synctial Virus (RSV) is an infection that is contagious that resembles the common cold a lot of times. RSV is the most common viral pathogen that causes lower respiratory tract infections in infants. RSV infection in infancy cause severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia and may incline children to the following development of asthma, the most common chronic illness of childhood. RSV is the most single related cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis. Epidemics of the virus are seen each winter, 80% of infections typically occur during a three-month period. The virus is not typically severe during infancy but it is rare if it happens. (As, in my case I was born with the RSV virus and was hospitalized for eighteen days and was put on assisted ventilation.) In infants RSV infection can spread to the bronchial tubes and lungs. The virus can also infect adults, in where the infection can cause viral pneumonia, which is sometimes followed by a bacterial infection of the lower respiratory system.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a severe acute respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus named MERS-CoV. It is believed that the virus is found in camels and passed on to humans who are in contact or around infected animal. These camels are mainly located in Egypt, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2015a). Those infected with MERS exhibit fever, cough, and shortness of breath, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Severe cases require patient to be put on mechanical ventilation or in an intensive care unit. It is also known to cause kidney failure and septic shock. The elderly, persons who are immunosuppressed, those who

In September of 2012, beginning in the country of Saudi Arabia, hospitals began seeing increased cases of a respiratory virus never before seen in humans. They named it Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. MERS is a viral respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. It was originally thought to have started there in Saudi Arabia. It was not until later that they were able to trace the origin back to Jordan starting in April of 2012. All outbreaks of MERS have been traced back to originating from the Arabian Peninsula (CDC, 2015a). Unfortunately, it is not known exactly how MERS was contracted in humans, but it is believed to have come from an animal source, probably from camels. Strains of MERS

RSV is the most common cause of LRTI’s leading to morbidity and mortality in children across the world. Most children have acquired an RSV infection by the time they reach 2 years of age. It is typical to see these infections during the winter/early spring seasons in temperate regions, and during the rainy seasons in tropical areas. This is likely due to the increase of indoor crowding related to weather. The transmission of RSV requires close contact by either a large particle aerosol, or by contamination of hands followed by an inoculation into the eye or nose. Secondary infections are seen in in family contacts of an individual with a primary case due to their close contact.

SARS is a respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus that was thought to have originated in Guangdong China but was not reported until

At the first possible outbreak of SARS, the nurse will need to follow protocol. The initiation of the protocol begins with an assessment of the patient. A doctor will determine if the patient is possibly infected with SARS by following the physical and epidemiologic criteria. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention mandates reporting to the all cases where the patient has pneumonia of an unknown origin, and could have recently been exposed of the SARS virus [ (Center of Disease Control, 2005) ]. Once the report has been made the community health nurse should have all hospitalized patients with respiratory symptoms questioned on their recent history and possibilities of contact with the virus. Next, the community health nurse needs to educate staff and the community about possible ways to contract SARS, and encourage behaviors such as, frequent hand washing, covering their nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing, and using and properly disposing of tissues for respiratory secretions. [ (Center of Disease Control, 2005) ] Once health care members and the public are educated on the route of transmission they can prevent being exposed. Confirmed infected patients would be transferred to Seattle, where they can be in isolation rooms, patients can be more critically monitored, and research centers can be of benefit to

Influenza, normally called “the flu”, the influenza virus causes an infection in the respiration tract. Even though the influenza virus can sometimes be compared with the common cold. It also can cause a more severe illness or death. During this past century, pandemics took place in 1918, 1957, and 1968, in all of these cases there where unfortunately many deaths. The “Spanish flu” in 1918, killed approximately half a million people in the United States alone. It killed around 20 million worldwide. The “Asian flu” in 1957, in the United States their 70,000 people died. In 1968 the “Hong-Kong flu” There where 34,000 deaths in the United

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) currently has no cure, but with research, a possible cure and or a vaccination can be created to prevent future outbreaks of this virus. To better understand this virus there has been some research regarding what pathways are activated as SARS-CoV is in the human body. There are many different types of proteins that are part of this virus; with one of the most commonly studied proteins being structural proteins and nucleocapsid proteins. Proteins are being modified so that the virus can “engage, modify and/ or disrupt the host cell signaling and nuclear import machinery for the benefit of the virus replications,” (Frieman, 2008). Proteins such as structural proteins are being changed which also changes how the human body reacts to the virus,

Severe Acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness that had recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. SARS was first reported is Asia in February of 2003, over the next few months it spread to more than a dozen countries. By late July 2003, no new cases were being reported and the global outbreak was declared over by the World Health Organization. During this time period 8,098 people worldwide became infected with SARS and out of these 774 died. In the United States a total of 192 SARS cases had been reported, including 159 suspect and 33 probable cases. Of the probable only 8 had laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV infection. Luckily, no SARS relate deaths occurred in the US.

Infectious disease is considered an ever evolving issue world-wide. A number of health officials and idealists believed that the threat of infectious disease would have been eradicated by now.1 Infectious disease remains the leading cause of death across the globe and the third leading cause of death in the United States.2 Within the scope of infectious disease, the most common cause of illness is viral respiratory tract infections, also referred to as VRTI.3 Recently, a new strain of virus related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome commonly referred to as SARS has been identified.4,5 The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract in humans and has recently been discovered in a small

Respiratory symptoms of this virus can be fever, cough, shortness of breath, and pneumonia. Patients can also have gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. If the patient becomes severely ill, they may have a respiratory failure and would be placed on a respirator or a ventilator. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website, "Approximately 27% of patients with MERS have died." The organization also claims that the virus causes a severer disease in the elderly, people with a weak immune system, and people that may gave a chronic disease.

Many people may confuse Pandemic with Epidemic which can often times lead to being over prepared or under prepared. An epidemic as an infectious disease that quickly travels within a city, state, or country from person to person. An example of an epidemic would be SARS, which spread through many countries and killed roughly 800 people. On the other hand, Pandemics differ because the infectious disease is spread globally. A pandemic has a much higher infectious rate and an even larger death rate compared to an epidemic.