atypical pneumonia

CT images help radiologists diagnose SARS

Radiologists have used computed tomography (CT), a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to obtain cross-sectional pictures of the body, to better define severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In a study published online May 8, 2003 at www.rsna.organd in the August 2003 issue of the journal Radiology, Anil T. Ahuja, M.D., and a team of physicians from Hong Kong’s Prince of Wales Hospital analyzed the CT images of 73 patients with symptoms and signs suggestive of SARS. The patients were hospitalized from March 11, 2003 to April 2, 2003 during an outbreak of atypical pneumonia at Prince of Wales Hospital.

WHO coordinates international effort to identify and treat SARS

WHO has today stepped up several activities aimed at strengthening the international response to the recent emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). SARS is an infectious disease of unknown etiology characterized by atypical pneumonia. The disease is spread from person to person but only through close contact with a case. To date, almost all reported cases have occurred in health workers involved in the direct care of reported cases or in close contacts, such as family members. There is no evidence to date that the disease spreads though casual contact.