(A) Background on SARS: OSHA has developed this Information Regarding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to provide relevant and timely information regarding this illness to employers, employees, and other interested parties. OSHA may update this information as additional information concerning SARS becomes available. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an emerging, sometimes fatal, respiratory illness. The first identified cases occurred in China in late 2002, and the disease has now spread throughout the world. Although SARS is believed to be caused by a virus, the specific agent has not been identified, and there is not yet any laboratory or other test that can definitively identify cases. Suspected SARS cases in the United States have involved individuals returning from travel to Asia and health care workers and other contacts of those patients. SARS does not appear to be caused by casual contact; transmission appears to be primarily through close contact with a symptomatic patient. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has defined a suspect case of SARS as an illness of unknown cause that began in February 2003 or later and meets the following criteria: (a) Fever of at least 100.5 degrees F; (b) One or more clinical findings of respiratory illness, such as cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia, or x-ray evidence of either pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome; and (c) The onset of symptoms occurs within 10 days of either (1) travel to an area with documented or suspected community transmission of SARS; or (2) close contact with either a person with a respiratory illness who traveled to a SARS area or a known suspect SARS case. Close contact means having cared for, lived with, or had direct contact with respiratory secretions and/or body fluids. A list of areas with documented or suspected community transmission of SARS can be found on the Revised CSTE SARS Surveillance Case Definition web site. Suspect cases with radiographic evidence of pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome, or evidence of unexplained respiratory distress syndrome by autopsy are designated "probable" cases by the World Health Organization (WHO) case definition. In addition to fever, reports indicated that the majority of SARS patients experienced chills, and about half had muscle aches and dry cough. Fewer than half have also shown other symptoms such as dizziness. The incubation period is typically 2 to 7 days, although some reports suggest an incubation period as long as 10 to 12 days. Signs of the illness include a decreased white blood cell count in most patients as well as below normal blood platelet counts, liver enzyme increase, and electrolyte disturbances in a number of patients. Most people with SARS are adults. Those age 40 and older and those with certain medical conditions appear to be at increased risk of more severe disease and of death. Treatment consists of antibiotics and steroids, with other options being explored. Between 10 and 20 percent of SARS patients have required ventilator support for a period of time. To date, about 4 percent of identified SARS cases have been fatal. See more from topic source: https://www.osha.gov/html/a-z-index.html