SARS: The First Pandemic of the 21st Century

Cherry, James D; Krogstad, Paul

doi:10.1203/01.PDR.0000129184.87042.FC

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Published: 01 July 2004

SARS: The First Pandemic of the 21^st Century

James D Cherry¹ &
Paul Krogstad¹

Pediatric Research volume 56, pages 1–5 (2004) Cite this article

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SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was a new disease in the fall of 2002, which first occurred in Guangdong Province, China and spread to 29 countries with 8422 cases and 916 fatalities (1–3). After an unprecedented global public health effort, the epidemic was controlled within 7 mo of its original occurrence (4). The scientific effort demonstrated unusual international cooperation and was facilitated by electronic communication. Media coverage was incredibly accurate and provided worldwide pictures to augment scientific data. As of March 1, 2004, there were 1695 citations related to SARS in the medical literature. Of interest, however, is that of these citations only 0.1% are related to pediatric experiences. The purpose of this mini-review is to examine the unique pediatric aspects of SARS, to review the epidemiology of the SARS-CoV in regard to future epidemics, and to use the SARS experience as a model for future pandemics.

The first train of transmission of SARS occurred in Fosham City, Guangdong Province, China (2, 4). During the period from November 16, 2002, until February 9, 2003, there were 305 cases reported in Guangdong Province. SARS was spread to Hong Kong on February 22, 2003, by a patient from Guangdong Province who, before his hospitalization, stayed in the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong for 1 d. Ten secondary cases occurred in hotel guests, and these infected persons led directly to tertiary cases in two Hong Kong hospitals and outbreaks in Singapore, Toronto, and Hanoi (5).

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Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Mattel's Children's Hospital at UCLA, Los Angeles, 90095, CA, U.S.A.
James D Cherry & Paul Krogstad

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James D Cherry
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Correspondence to James D Cherry.

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Cherry, J., Krogstad, P. SARS: The First Pandemic of the 21^st Century. Pediatr Res 56, 1–5 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1203/01.PDR.0000129184.87042.FC

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Received: 15 March 2004
Accepted: 23 March 2004
Issue date: 01 July 2004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/01.PDR.0000129184.87042.FC

SARS: The First Pandemic of the 21^st Century

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