title: SARS transmission and hospital containment.
abstract: An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was detected in Singapore at the beginning of March 2003. The outbreak, initiated by a traveler to Hong Kong in late February 2003, led to sequential spread of SARS to three major acute care hospitals in Singapore. The critical factor in containing this outbreak was early detection and complete assessment of movements and follow-up of patients, healthcare workers, and visitors who were contacts. Visitor records were important in helping identify exposed persons who could carry the infection into the community. In the three hospital outbreaks, three different containment strategies were used to contain spread of infection: closing an entire hospital, removing all potentially infected persons to a dedicated SARS hospital, and managing exposed persons in place. On the basis of this experience, if a nosocomial outbreak is detected late, a hospital may need to be closed in order to contain spread of the disease. Outbreaks detected early can be managed by either removing all exposed persons to a designated location or isolating and managing them in place.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, College of Medicine Building, 16 College Road, Singapore 169854, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Gowri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gopalakrishna
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: Yee Sin
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.forename: Boon Keng
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: Yean Teng
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Ali S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Chorh Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology