The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7241 p388
22 March 2003

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Health professionals alerted to atypical pneumonia

United Kingdom health care professionals should be on the alert for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) following a global warning from the World Health Organization and the first probable case of the disease in England.

The organism responsible for SARS is a virus from the paramyxoviridae family. Other paramyxo viruses cause mumps and measles.

SARS is a severe atypical pneumonia that has been reported in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Thailand and Canada. The disease has spread in a short period of time and is now a worldwide threat, according to Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO director general. Evidence suggests that the infection is mainly passed to close contacts such as family members and health care workers.

The initial signs involve a 'flu-like illness developing within 10 days of either travel to an affected area or contact with someone with SARS. Symptoms include rapid onset of high fever followed by muscle aches, headache and respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

According to the UK's Public Health Laboratory Service, no specific treatment recommendations can be made at this time. Antibiotic therapy should cover causes of community acquired pneumonia including both typical and atypical respiratory pathogens. Initial recommendations for management, including treatment and infection control, are available on the PHLS website. The PHLS says the guidance will be updated as more information becomes available.

The PHLS recommends that patients with atypical pneumonia that may be related to outbreaks in affected areas are nursed using barrier techniques, investigated and reported to consultants in communicable disease control or to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. Those with milder illness can be managed at home, limiting their contacts and using a surgical mask when visiting health care facilities.