Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

• North Carolina SARS Response Plan (01/21/04)
• SARS Info for NC Health Care Providers
• SARS Isolation and Quarantine Orders (for Local Health Departments)
• SARS in North Carolina in 2003

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. Over the next few months, the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. North Carolina had one confirmed case in June 2003, a man who contracted the disease on a trip to Canada. He fully recovered from his illness, and no other people in North Carolina developed SARS.

The SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. However, several new cases were reported in China in 2004, spurring global efforts to ensure that the disease did not spread. As of May 2005, there was no known SARS transmission anywhere in the world.

• Keep Illness From Spreading: Tips for preventing the spread of respiratory diseases, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Up-to-date information on SARS worldwide, including news bulletins and current case counts; Q&A; information for specific groups and settings such as travelers, students, patients, physicians and hospitals; specific topics such as diagnosis/evaluation, quarantine, reporting, infection control and exposure management, laboratory specimens, travel, etc.
• World Health Organization (WHO) SARS information
• SARS in North Carolina in 2003. Archived news releases and bulletins regarding SARS in North Carolina.