Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS is a respiratory viral infection caused by the SARS-CoV coronavirus. It is a potentially deadly illness that quickly spread around the world in 2003; it causes flu-like symptoms.

Symptoms
Symptoms are similar to the flu. About 1 in 5 people with SARS may also get diarrhea.
 * A fever over 100.4 F (38 C)
 * Chills
 * Muscle aches

Symptoms Can Worsen Fast

A dry cough can develop 2 to 7 days into the illness. This cough can keep the body from getting enough oxygen. 1 in 10 people with SARS will need a machine to help them breathe.

Can Lead to Other Health Problems People who are over age 60 and have chronic illness like diabetes or hepatitis are most likely to have these problems.
 * pneumonia
 * heart failure
 * liver failure

ME/CFS
A large long-term follow up of people needing hospital treatment for SARS found that 40% reported chronic fatigue, and 27% of them and met the CDC's criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome one year after recovery from SARS. This study found that the use of corticosteroids (steroids) in treating SARS was not associated with an increased likelihood of chronic fatigue, and the high rates of psychiatric problems did not explain high rates of chronic fatigue. Moldofsky et al. (2011) assessed 21 survivors of SARS from Toronto, Canada, who remained too ill to return to work, stating that chronic post-SARS was similar to fibromyalgia.

Notable studies

 * 2004, Pulmonary function and exercise capacity in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Full text)

Learn more

 * SARS: The Outbreak (2003) YouTube