

Therefore infected individuals could be identified early, isolated, and prevented from creating onward transmission.

How? One of the biggest differences between SARS and SARS-CoV-2 is that SARS was mostly transmissible when people displayed obvious signs of infection. Like SARS-CoV-2, the virus passed from person to person via respiratory transmission, but the pandemic was brought under control using only public health measures. The original severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic lasted just 18 months and came to an end by early 2004. It is calculated by averaging the number of new infections resulting from a single infectious case. For an epidemic to occur, the reproductive number (R) must be greater than 1, representing a growth in infection rates. The reproductive number is a measure of the potential for the virus to spread through a previously uninfected population. An epidemic is an unexpected increase in the number of disease cases in a specific geographical area. 1, 2Ī pandemic is an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people. One of the biggest challenges in eliminating the SARS-CoV-2 virus is the emergence of significant new variants for which existing vaccines may not fully protect against severe illness and death. Herd immunity can only be achieved when there are enough people with acquired immunity through natural infection or vaccination to stop transmission. It will take a momentous effort by nations around the world to work towards global elimination, and possible eradication of COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. From the introduction of the smallpox vaccine in 1796, it took nearly two centuries to eradicate the disease. Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 while rinderpest, a deadly virus in cattle, was eradicated in 2011. There are only two viruses ever to be eradicated in human history: smallpox (variola virus) and rinderpest virus.

Tab will move on to the next part of the site rather than go through menu items.Įradicating diseases caused by viral pathogens on a global scale is no easy task.

Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. Left and right arrows move across top level links and expand / close menus in sub levels. The site navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands.
