Germ of the Month - July 2005

This month we would like to introduce you to Shari (SARS). She caused such a stir two years ago! Let’s take a look at the latest on Shari.

An international outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, caused by a newly identified coronavirus, began in November 2002 and ended in July 2003. The 2002-2003 outbreak probably originated from animal-to-human transmission, most likely civet cats, creating the more virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus we know of as SARS.¹ Recent studies have documented that severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus is primarily transmitted via contact and/or respiratory droplets and that the combination of standard, contact, and droplet precautions is generally effective for its control.² Promising treatments have been identified, including interferons, an anti-spike monoclonal antibody, and fusion inhibitors. In addition, many promising vaccines are currently in development.³ SARS alerted the general population to the formidable challenges facing the global healthcare community and the impact of travel to the spread of infectious disease. All countries have to be prepared at a number of levels to deal with the threat posed by the SARS epidemic and any other emerging infectious disease. The healthcare sector should consider a few issues:

1. The need for consistent and vigilant overall infection control measures in hospitals.
2. Healthcare workers should always follow simple, but stringent hygienic practices (e.g., washing hands before and after seeing a patient, even when no epidemic is apparent).
3. Interview patients with fever to obtain important information, such as recent travel history or contacts with possibly infected persons could help to quickly identify persons at risk and reduce spread.
4. The use of high-risk medical procedures that may inadvertently spread the disease through aerosolization of the agent should be evaluated with potential new diseases in mind.
5. Quarantine and isolation procedures and contact tracing need to be instituted early in the outbreak, and access to hospitals treating such patients needs to be restricted to limit spread into the community.
6. Environmental hygiene needs to be maintained. For example, in the wake of the SARS outbreak, the Hong Kong government has introduced a number of measures to improve public hygiene, including increased penalties for spitting, which still remains a commonplace habit.⁴

We hope you enjoy introducing your staff to Shari this month as you continue your own efforts to educate and maintain awareness about infectious disease in your facility. This information is brought to you by Regent Medical, maker of Hibiclens® antiseptic and Hibistat®, convenient antimicrobial towelettes with the persistence of CHG.⁵ Our reason for all that we do is to provide you with the very best in products and support, to help you control infections. We look forward to hearing from you about our Hibigeebie® campaign. Please feel free to contact us at 1-800-843-8497.

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1 Poutanen SM, Low DE. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: an update. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2004 Aug;17(4):287-94.
2 Poutanen SM, Low DE. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: an update. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2004 Aug;17(4):287-94.
3 Poutanen SM, Low DE. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: an update. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2004 Aug;17(4):287-94.
4 Abdullah ASM, Tomlinson B, Cockram CS,Thomas GN. Lessons from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak in Hong Kong. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2003; 9(9).
5 Regent Medical urges all users to read the product leaflet closely and use Hibi products only as directed.