News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization has issued an alert over outbreaks of severe respiratory illness, including atypical pneumonia, that it has been investigating since mid-February in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

(CIDRAP News) – As cases in the global outbreak of "severe acute respiratory syndrome" (SARS) climbed to 264 today, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there is evidence that the illness may be caused by a previously unknown member of the Paramyxovirus family, which causes measles, mumps, and canine distemper.

(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of atypical pneumonia that began in southern China last fall was probably severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the mysterious flu-like illness that has spread to 13 countries since late February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – In an effort to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Hong Kong health officials have sealed off a large apartment building where 107 people became infected.

Apr 2 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today took the unusual step of advising against nonessential travel to Hong Kong and the neighboring Guangdong Province of China because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) there.

(CIDRAP News) – Cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United States and worldwide jumped significantly today, but most patients in the United States have recovered and none have died, according to health officials.

(CIDRAP News) – Efforts to develop a fast, reliable diagnostic test for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suffered setbacks in recent days as the disease continued to spread at a brisk pace, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of three different tests under development, two don't work until relatively late in the course of the illness, and one can be used earlier but is not very reliable, WHO announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) official today said the peak of the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has passed in places other than China and Hong Kong, despite the continuing increase in cases.

(CIDRAP News) – Genetic sequencing of the virus believed to cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—an achievement announced by Canadian and US scientists in the past few days—has set the stage for improving diagnostic tests and developing treatments and vaccines for the disease, according to health officials.

(CIDRAP News) – A previously unrecognized coronavirus that has been regarded for 3 weeks as the likely cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been confirmed as the pathogen, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.