Southern New Hampshire University IHP-330-H7856 Principles of Epidemiology 23EW5 4-2 Worksheet: Connections Between a Disease and a Population Amanda Hein May 24th, 2023
Provide a brief description of SARS, supporting your description with sources from the case. SARS is short for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is a viral respiratory infection that is caused by a virus from the coronavirus family and is transmitted through contact with a person who is infected. Epiville states "SARS was first reported in Asia, in February of 2003". More than two dozen countries experienced the spread of this virus within a few months, and it was not contained until the middle of 2003. SARS caused over 8400 people to be sick and the deaths of over 800 people. Describe the patterns you can identify in the population impacted by the SARS outbreak, citing the case to support your response. This case study is targeting one location, the Anomy Apartment Complex. It has 200 units and about 600 residents. The city population is approximately 530,00. Seventy people were admitted with symptoms of SARS and fifty-three were hospitalized and diagnosed with SARS. Draw conclusions about the mode of disease transmission based on your analysis of the disease and population. SARS is transmitted by coming into close contact with a carrier of the disease. "Disease transmission refers to any mechanism by which an infectious agent is spread from a source or reservoir to another person". The data collected showed 20 staff members at The Star Hospital contracted SARS because they came into close contact with someone admitted to their facility for the disease. Another example is Anomy Apartments, being such a tightly built complex that
residents come into contact frequently enough to have the disease spread faster between people. Data also indicated there were more SARS cases in the apartment location than in any other location within the small-town area. It is suggested that people having symptoms of SARS should isolate themselves from the population until it is determined they either do not have the disease or no longer have the disease. By using isolation, it can protect the general population from the risk of spread.