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ýìý¬ú: 05/19/2003 09:17:25 AM
ýÅýIýXýV: 2003/05/25 16:53:21
’Lý[’ýý[’h: SARS, ’Tý[’Y, ’A’W’A, ú{, ·ýsÌ’A’h’o’C’X

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2003/05/19 09:39:56: Sars`³}Ò

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

This new ailment emerged initially in China, and has since spread rapidly to Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany, and many other countries on all continents. For some reason, probably a combination of luck and high standards of cleanliness, there have been no cases in Japan as yet. There have been nearly twenty reported possible cases in Japan, but these have almost all turned out to be false alarms so far. The remaining cases have been isolated pending confirmation of the cause of their ailments.

SARS symptoms tend to emerge within ten days of exposure, so if you have travelled to any of the countries where SARS is known to exist, you should check for the symptoms (see below) and notify your doctor immediately if you experience fever.

Travel advisory

It is best to follow the travel advisory issued by your country's government. It is best to avoid travel to infected areas, including transit through airports of those same countries. See the SARS cases page for further details of the countries that have cases. Japan is as yet free of confirmed SARS cases, and is taking all precautions possible.

Many Japanese language schools around the country have stopped accepting students arriving from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and in some cases Singapore, Korea, Toronto and other countries or cities. This means that if you are from a country that is not at risk, you are likely to be safe in a Japanese language school. However, we recommend that you contact us for details of which schools are taking the most effective measures against SARS.

Symptoms

The symptoms of SARS include fever over 38°C, together with a cough, shortness of breath or other difficulty in breathing. In some cases, this may be accompanied by muscular aches, headache, sore throat, and similar flu-like symptoms. It has been suggested that since the body's immune system seems incapable of actually destroying the virus, it overreacts and this overactive response leads to deterioration of the lungs requiring oxygen support and mechanical (artificial) ventilation.

Just because you develop a fever does not mean that you have SARS: diagnosis requires the presence of one or more respiratory problems (difficulty breathing, cough, shortness of breath) and you should always see a doctor rather than attempting self-diagnosis. Also, transmission requires that you come into contact with a person who has the disease. Transmission probably occurs through contact with saliva, droplets of water from sneezing, tears, and such like.

Cause of the illness

The cause of the illness is unknown, but it is suggested that a new form of coronavirus (named for its corona-like shape) may have crossed from animals to humans. This is still to be confirmed, and the virus may work in concert with other factors to produce the severe symptoms of SARS.

Cures for SARS

There are no known cures for SARS at present but the World Health Authority and pharmaceutical companies around the world are racing to develop vaccines and cures for the virus.

The most effective method of preventing infection is good personal hygiene. Make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly and regularly, and that you wear a high-quality mask when in crowded places. To be infected, you need to be exposed to the disease, and as there are so far no cases in Japan, you are most unlikely to be infected here. However, caution is advisable.

Contact information

If you have any concerns about SARS, or are thinking of cancelling your trip to Japan because of SARS, please contact us with any questions you may have.

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