The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a respiratory disease caused by the SARS coronavirus, hit Hong Kong severely between February and July 2003. SARS was a new type of viral infection first recorded in China in November 2002. Capable of transmitting through direct contact with infectious respiratory droplets, the disease spread rapidly across Hong Kong when an infected doctor visited and died in Hong Kong on 23rd February, 2003. The outbreak of SARS, the first deadly epidemic of the 21st Century, started from Guangdong, a south province in China in November 2002. People in Guangdong soon got panic and rushed to shops to purchase vinegar to heat the vinegar at home and make indoor air humid and acidic. It was hindsight revealed that China’s initial response to the outbreak in Guangdong was slow and lacking transparency. WHO received the information from China about the “infection” of SARS only on February 11, 2003, three months later after the first case in Guangdong. While the international community criticized China for its lack of transparency in its initial response and attempts to tell the minimum impact of the disease, one fact remained true was that by that time no body in the world had pre-knowledge of the disease and the cause of the disease. The frustration of knowing so little about the virus, its prevention, treatment and the difficulty of distinguishing the SARS infection from other known disease infection caused diagnostic delays and took China some
In two years between 1918 and 1919, A pandemic of influenza swept mercilessly over the planet, killing millions which stood in its path. Miraculously, the exact origin of the pandemic is unclear. What is exceedingly clear, however, is that often the actions of man aided in the spread of the virus, whether due to inadvertent endangerment, close quarters, religious principles, or failure to recognize the true threat that influenza posed.
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.
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
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is considered the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in infants and young children. Each year, 4-5 million children younger than 4 years acquire an RSV infection, and more than 125,000 are hospitalized annually in the United States because of this infection. (Medscape, 2016).
The pandemic struck the world and infected 1/3 of earth’s human population, killing over 50 million humans. The world’s top doctors have never witnessed anything of this killing magnitude besides the bubonic plague of 1348 but the transmissibility is of nothing they’ve ever seen in their lifetime or of recorded history. People abruptly became aware of the importance of health, and need of medicine and cleanliness.
SARS is a respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus that was thought to have originated in Guangdong China but was not reported until
The book The Great Influenza by John Barry takes us back to arguably one of the greatest medical disasters in human history, the book focuses on the influenza pandemic which took place in the year 1918. The world was at war in the First World War and with everyone preoccupied with happenings in Europe and winning the war, the influenza pandemic struck when the human race was least ready and most distracted by happenings all over the world. In total the influenza pandemic killed over a hundred million people on a global scale, clearly more than most of the deadliest diseases in modern times. John Barry leaves little to imagination in his book as he gives a vivid description of the influenza pandemic of 1918 and exactly how this pandemic affected the human race. The book clearly outlines the human activities that more or less handed the human race to the influenza on a silver platter. “There was a war on, a war we had to win” (Barry, p.337). An element of focus in the book is the political happenings back at the time not only in the United States of America but also all over the world and how politicians playing politics set the way for perhaps the greatest pandemic in human history to massacre millions of people. The book also takes an evaluator look at the available medical installations and technological proficiencies and how the influenza pandemic has affected medicine all over the world.
We are first told of this out break in China. However, the starting point of the infection is never presented to us. China try's to cover up the story by having other news articles on the news. They did not want to cause a public outbreak and chaos.
pandemics: the Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu, the Hong Kong flu and the terror and
The 1968 Pandemic was known as the “Hong Kong Flu” and was Influenza strain A(H3N2) and caused 34,000 deaths in the U.S.
This was the most difficult virus in the game. This time, I tried implementing the same techniques as with the easy virus. I attempted to implement early detection systems in countries closest countries to the outbreak. Furthermore, I quickly closed airports, schools, and markets in the affected country. While I thought that all of these actions would lead to successful control of the virus, I was wrong. This virus was much stronger than the Kai virus from the last time, and took many more lives than before. The Broadway virus ended in two less days than the Kai Virus, however took many more lives and infected many more individuals than the previous virus. This opened my eyes to another aspect of such outbreaks. No two viruses are alike and because of that, one cannot follow the same path that they used to stop one epidemic and implement it into stopping another one. Scientists and countries much take each virus outbreak on a case by case basis and act
SARS appears to spread by close person-to-person contact. It is thought that transmission is most readily occurred through respiratory droplets. These can be produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets are propelled through the air and are deposited on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of a person that is nearby. It is also possible that the virus can spread when a person touches a surface or object contaminated with infectious droplets and then touches their mouth, nose, or eyes. Furthermore, it is possible that SARS-CoV might be airborne spread or by other methods that are not yet known.
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a common lung disorder that mostly affects preterm infants. RDS is caused by insufficient surfactant production and structural immaturity of the lungs leading to alveolar collapse. Clinically, RDS presents soon after birth with tachypnea, nasal flaring, grunting, retractions, hypercapnia, and/or an oxygen need. The usual course is clinical worsening followed by recovery in 3 to 5 days as adequate surfactant production occurs. Research in the prevention and treatment of this disease has led to major improvements in the care of preterm infants with RDS and increased survival. However, RDS remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in the most preterm infants. This chapter reviews the most current evidence-based management of RDS, including prevention, delivery room stabilization, respiratory management, and supportive care.
Back to the past, the impact of the extensive outbreak of SAR(Severe acute respiratory syndrome) which is a contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness.It began to plague China in February and March 2003, is multi-faceted and is affecting the country politically, economically and socially to various extents. Therefore, the economic recession had occurred in Hong Kong, which led to the reduced industry and many people were