After two month’s of research, tracking and combative efforts, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) remains a baffling mystery to scientists, health organizations and cultures worldwide.

Short history

SARS was initially discovered in February after a man checked into a Hanoi, Vietnam hospital complaining of a mild fever, muscle soreness and fatigue symptoms usually associated with the common cold. In just the few months since, the virus has been reported in more than two dozen nations, totaling nearly 3,000 documented cases.

Since the emergence of SARS, scientists worldwide are putting strong efforts towards determining exactly what causes SARS and how it spreads.

“We know the specific type of virus, coronavirus,” said Professor Teresa Compton of the McCarta lab for cancer research. “While the coronavirus itself is not a stranger to the science world, it has never affected people as seriously as it is now,” Compton said.

Additionally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “[Scientists] have detected a previously unrecognized coronavirus in patients with SARS.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the coronavirus’ link to SARS Wednesday.

Why SARS spreads

Since medical researchers are still exploring the inner- workings of SARS, it is difficult to determine how exactly it spreads from person to person and throughout the world.

Compton speculates travelers to and from the infected regions became carriers of SARS, meaning the virus may be airborne.

“One concern is that the virus remains viable on surfaces for a number of hours,” Compton said, noting one can contract SARS by simply touching an object an infected person came into contact with.

In response to such concerns, the WHO has restricted travel to Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Vietnam and other affected Southeast Asian countries.

“This outbreak shows all the signs of a worldwide pandemic,” Compton said. “It’s easily transmissible [and has] moved in a relatively short period of time.”

Since the initial outbreak in February, the WHO has kept an accurate tally of SARS infections. Recently, though, the WHO have found where people are contacting SARS without coming into contact with those already infected with the virus.

Reuters recently reported a case in Florida where SARS was suspected to be spreading abnormally.

“It would be the first time the virus had spread to someone in the United States who was not caring for a possible SARS patient,” Reuters stated.

Virus workings

The way SARS affects the human immune system is as mysterious as the virus’ origin.

Dr. M. Suresh, assistant professor of immunology at UW, says the key to finding how exactly the virus works is in animal observation.

“There’s a strain [of coronavirus] that causes severe diseases in chickens,” Suresh said. “Coronavirus causes chickens, cows and other animals to suffer from an intensely infectious bronchitis.”

Furthermore, a link of evidence has been established between animals and humans infected with a coronavirus, Suresh said.

“In China [and] the province that was affected, people had very close contact with chickens,” Suresh said. “[Theoretically] the chicken virus jumped the species barrier.”

While diseases are able to pass from humans to animals, the critical factor is how the new coronavirus strain reacts within the human immune system.

“Human coronavirus usually doesn’t grow in cells where this one is growing,” Suresh said. “It’s going into the lungs and causing acute pneumonia.”

Furthermore, Compton says those infected with SARS may have severe reactions in terms of intense inflammation and high fever.

“[SARS is] making people much more sick than this family of viruses has ever made people,” Compton said.

Additionally, victims of SARS in Hong Kong have recently been younger and healthier than the initial causality category. These reports have lead scientists worldwide to wonder if the virus strain is now more virulent.

Klaus Stohr, a UN agency official in charge of networking SARS research laboratories, cautions people against assuming the worst.

“It wouldn’t be a big surprise if this virus was gradually changing its genetic makeup,” Stohr said. “How much this change impacts … its capacity to cause disease … remains to be seen.”

Vaccine search

Suresh said a lack of knowledge about the virus seems to be its deadliest component.

“It’s so completely new,” Suresh said. “We really don’t know anything about it or how it spreads. We have to do a lot more research.”

Suresh suggests health officials should make containment the number one priority towards a slow-down of SARS since it doesn’t seem to be spreading as quickly as other airborne viruses. Once the virus is contained, tests can then be conducted on infected patients, Suresh said.

While some drugs have been tested in efforts to combat the virus, the success rate is not high. CDC scientists only recently unlocked the genetic sequencing of the new coronavirus.

“The availability of the sequence data will have an immediate impact on efforts to develop new and rapid diagnostic tests, antiviral agents and vaccines,” the CDC stated.

United States concern

In only a few months this deadly virus has spread quickly from Southeast Asia to the United States. The WHO reported that the United States currently holds the third highest position in terms of numbers, with a total of 193 cases. These high numbers have raised concerns in medical facilities throughout the United States.

“Roughly 5,000 hospitals in the United States are preparing special isolation rooms, retooling emergency rooms and stocking up on face masks to be ready,” Reuters reported.

Some doctors aren’t taking any chances with this epidemic and the CDC has urged U.S. doctors, “[To monitor] anyone with a temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, at least one respiratory illness symptom like a dry cough or shortness of breath and who has traveled within 10 days of onset of symptoms to an affected country.”

Though the number of SARS cases rise daily, there have been no SARS-related deaths within the United States to date.

UW’s response

While there was a concern that SARS had been transmitted to a UW student studying abroad, there are no confirmed cases of the virus in the Madison area.

Nevertheless, University Health Services has posted information regarding SARS on their website.

“It’s just a hot topic, and we started to get questions, ” UHS epidemiologist Craig Roberts said, noting UHS is keeping in close contact with students returning from abroad programs in SARS-infected areas.

“There are about a dozen students in study abroad programs [in affected regions],” Roberts said. “Most of them have elected to come home early [and] they have to go through a 10-day self-monitoring period to watch for things like fever.”

Joan Raducha, director of the International Academic Program at UW, says that students have primarily returned from Hong Kong and Singapore. For students returning early, some special exams were assigned to assure all available course credits were awarded, Raducha says.

UW’s scientific research programs are world renowned for their involvement in stem-cell technology and other innovative projects. However, research wise, nothing has been officially started at UW in response to SARS.

“Maybe in the next six months [research will start], ” Suresh said.