SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome, so it is basically a respiratory disease which affects humans. The history of SARS goes back to 2002, when an epidemic started in China. The disease quickly spread across the globe, and it has affected many people. On some of them, SARS had fatal consequences, which led to a worldwide panic. The SARS outbreak in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, as more than 8.400 cases were registered. By 2003, SARS was already present in 37 countries. Luckily, SARS has been fully contained until the present day. The last time that SARS affected an individual was in June 2003.

Even though we may rest assured that SARS is no longer causing any problems, we should also be aware that this disease still exists. The fact is that SARS has not been fully eradicated, unlike other similar diseases like smallpox, so this problem should not be ignored by anyone. This is why we should learn more about the SARS symptoms. Unfortunately, SARS may be hard to diagnose, because its signs and symptoms are very similar to the ones of the flu. SARS usually begins with high fever, lethargy, cough, sore throat, gastrointestinal symptoms and other non-specific signs. While these SARS symptoms may differ from one person to another, there is one common symptom for all individuals: a fever above 38 Celsius degrees. Later in the development of the disease, shortness of breath is another common SARS symptom.

At first, SARS may be easily mistaken with a cold. As the time goes by, SARS will begin to resemble influenza more and more. No matter the case, once you experience any kind of SARS symptoms, going to the doctor is mandatory. SARS cannot be treated with antibiotics, because it is a viral disease, so it usually requires isolation. This is also because SARS is highly contagious, so suspected cases are isolated in negative pressure rooms, so that the patient does not have any kind of contact with other people. By the end of 2004, Chinese researchers had come up with a SARS vaccine, which has been tested. Hopefully, this vaccine will prevent another SARS epidemic to appear in the future.