Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Beijing, 2003
subject: China, Disease Outbreaks, disease transmission, Epidemiology, nosocomial infection, SARS virus
description: The largest outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck Beijing in spring 2003. Multiple importations of SARS to Beijing initiated transmission in several healthcare facilities. Beijing’s outbreak began March 5; by late April, daily hospital admissions for SARS exceeded 100 for several days; 2,521 cases of probable SARS occurred. Attack rates were highest in those 20–39 years of age; 1% of cases occurred in children 65 years (27.7% vs. 4.8% for those 20–64 years, p < 0.001). Healthcare workers accounted for 16% of probable cases. The proportion of case-patients without known contact to a SARS patient increased significantly in May. Implementation of early detection, isolation, contact tracing, quarantine, triage of case-patients to designated SARS hospitals, and community mobilization ended the outbreak.
creator: Wannian Liang, Zonghan Zhu, Jiyong Guo, Zejun Liu, Xiong He, Weigong Zhou, Daniel P. Chin, Anne Schuchat
source: Emerging Infectious Diseases
publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
date: 2004
language: EN
identifier: DOI: 10.3201/eid1001.030553
coverage: Infectious and parasitic diseases, Medicine