SARS in Healthcare Facilities, Toronto and Taiwan

摘要

The healthcare setting was important in the earlyspread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) inboth Toronto and Taiwan. Healthcare workers, patients, andvisitors were at increased risk for infection. Nonetheless,the ability of individual SARS patients to transmit diseasewas quite variable. Unrecognized SARS case-patientswere a primary source of transmission, and early detectionand intervention were important to limit spread. Strictadherence to infection control precautions was essential incontaining outbreaks. In addition, grouping patients intocohorts and limiting access to SARS patients minimizedexposure opportunities. Given the difficulty in implementingseveral of these measures, control measures were fre-quently adapted to the acuity of SARS care and level oftransmission within facilities. Although these conclusionsare based only on a retrospective analysis of events, apply-ing the experiences of Toronto and Taiwan to SARS pre-paredness planning efforts will likely minimize futuretransmission within healthcare facilities