Only weeks after the initial reports of unusual illnesses in Wuhan, China, the first US case of #coronavirus has been identified. Spread of this new virus brings to mind the 2003 SARS epidemic. How similar/different is this outbreak from SARS? Some thoughts.
No approved treatments or vaccines available for these two viruses, though scientists have been working on a SARS vaccine and started work on a novel coronavirus vaccine. Containment of SARS relied on infection control, isolation, quarantine and other non-pharmaceutical measures.
Screening of international travelers for fevers/signs of illness is an aspect of both responses. Canada and multiple Asian countries screened millions of passengers but did not find a case SARS that way. WHO recommends against border screening for identifying cases.
None of the international cases of the new coronavirus, including in the US, were identified through border screening. Currently the U.S. screens passengers in LA, NY, and SF. The case was identified in Washington state.
Both outbreaks have the potential to have an outsized economic impact, even with only a few cases. Globally, SARS caused an estimated $30 billion in economic losses, or about $3 million per case of the disease.
Outbreaks can be prone to misinformation or sensationalization, especially in the age of social media. People and regions that are affected can be stigmatized, which was an aspect of the SARS outbreak.
What about differences? The speed of identification of the virus in Wuhan, and the speed with which there has been international spread sets it apart from SARS. It took months to identify the causative agent of SARS, and for international spread to occur.
Hospital-associated infections were an important part of SARS; a large proportion of SARS cases were health workers and caregivers. So far, this has not been the case with the novel coronavirus, though China has reported a number of health worker infections more recently.
Chinese response capacity and transparency is another change. Most public health observers feel Chinese officials have been laudably open to sharing information about the current outbreak there, a change from what happened during SARS.
The pace of scientific discovery with this outbreak exceeds that of SARS. No effective, rapid test for SARS was available for the 6 months of the SARS epidemic. We already have a diagnostic for the new virus, just weeks after its discovery.
There are important things we still don’t know. The epidemiological characteristics of the new virus, such how easily it transmits and the likelihood that it causes severe disease, are not fully understood but are being studied.
SARS was quite severe, if not especially transmissible. It killed around 10-15% of those infected. Early indications are the new coronavirus seem to indicate a much less deadly virus, but again, we still don't have enough information.
CDC says screening will now expand to include two additional airports: Chicago and Atlanta (already screening at NYC, LA, and SF) washingtonpost.com/health/2020/01…
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