SARS preparedness and response planning.

Umesh D Parashar,Larry J Anderson

doi:10.3201/eid1002.030803

Abstract

SARS preparedness and response planning.

Highlights

The meeting had approximately 100 participants, including 30 external partners from international, national, state, and local agencies
The purpose of the meeting was to share experiences and lessons learned from the response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, describe anticipated needs in preparation for the possible reemergence of SARS, discuss SARS preparedness and response plans currently under development, and outline priority areas and roles of various partners in ensuring adequate preparedness at the national, state, and local level
The speakers in the first plenary outlined several key lessons learned during the outbreak response: 1) some clinical features are suggestive of SARS, its symptoms overlap too much with those of other respiratory pathogens to make a clinical diagnosis; 2) risk of exposure is key to considering the likelihood of a diagnosis of SARS; 3) prompt use of isolation and infection control procedures was a key and effective part of SARS control; 4) quarantine was an integral part of SARS control in some settings with extensive transmission; and 5) testing multiple specimens may improve our ability to detect SARS-associated coronavirus (SARSCoV) infection

Summary

Introduction

The meeting had approximately 100 participants, including 30 external partners from international, national, state, and local agencies. The United States was not as severely affected by the SARS epidemic as parts of Asia and Canada, the outbreak response demonstrated both known and unexpected strengths and weaknesses in U.S national, state, and local public health and healthcare capacities to address major infectious disease challenges.

Results

Conclusion