Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Essay Example

"Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome" is an engrossing example of a paper on the virus. The disease that is known as SARS is caused by a virus that belongs to a family of viruses called coronavirus. It is mainly spread through infectious droplets that are obtained from the secretions of the respiratory systems, feces, and urine (Ramen, 2004). The virus additionally has the capability of surviving in normal feces and diarrhea. Previous reports indicate that in the normal feces the virus lives for an additional two days then in diarrhea. The virus has also been found to be able to live and survive on plastic materials for a period of two days and in urine for a day. It was additionally found out that the survival of the virus longer in diarrhea is due to the lower acidity levels in the feces. The disease is easily spread in areas where there are poor hygienic conditions and people do not wash their hands frequently. The virus can be shed through the secretions of the respiratory systems, feces and urine products (World Health Organization, 2003).

• Briefly Justify Your Reasons For Selecting The Characteristics Of SARS As Described Above

            According to the report presented by the organization on World Health, several tests have previously been carried out by scientists on feces to determine the level of survival of the SARS virus in them (2003). A research that was previously conducted within Hong Kong revealed that the survival of the SARS virus in feces lasts for forty-eight hours while it would survive in urine for a period of at least a day. The other studies that were carried out in another laboratory within the same country helped in revealing that the SARS virus lives for a longer period in diarrhea than in the normal feces. The period that these viruses were deemed to be able to survive was forty-eight hours in comparison to their survival in normal feces which was calculated to be approximately one day. The scientists performing this experiment attributed this conclusion to the fact that there were lower levels of acidity in the former (Ramen, 2004). These studies helped in partly revealing that the feces inhabitance of the virus is responsible for the transmission of the SARS virus though further studies are still being carried out on the field (World Health Organization, 2003).

            Current studies that are still been carried out indicate that the use of proper hygienic methods and maintaining clean environments would greatly assist in curbing the spread of the disease (Abraham, 2005). This is because the SARS virus is mainly believed to be spread through the infectious droplets that people produce from their respiratory systems when coughing or when sneezing (Ramen, 2004). The reports by the Organization for World Health additionally indicate that the regular washing of hands is the most appropriate method of dealing with the disease for people who have come into close contact with suspect victims of the ailment. Finally, the survival along with the transmission of the SARS virus has been found in studies carried out in countries like Japan, Germany along with Hong Kong to survive on plastics after drying up for a period of two days (World Health Organization, 2003). This, therefore, implies that coming into contact with the plastics containing this virus before this period is over will bring infections (Abraham, 2005).

• State Your Opinion As To Which Characteristic Is The Most Significant Factor That Causes People To Worry And Cancel Their Travel Plans

            In my opinion, the most significant factor that causes people to worry and cancel their travel plans is that the SARS virus is airborne and is transmitted mainly through infectious droplets that can be passed on from one person to another person through coughing or sneezing. In addition, there are many tourist destinations that are located in areas that do not have the appropriate equipment for detecting and controlling the disease in case of an outbreak installed. For instance, regions like the Gansu along with Jiangxi provinces of China do not have them. These two main reasons greatly raise fear among people of being infected due to their travel activities.

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