With the cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) still unconfirmed, there is no diagnostic test that doctors can offer their patients at this time.  Instead, initial diagnostic testing for people with SARS should include a chest xray, pulse oximetry, blood cultures, sputum culture and testing for respiratory viruses.

Investigators at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and their international counterparts suspect that SARS is caused by a virus belonging to the same family as the virus that causes some forms of the common cold, mumps, and measles. However, investigators caution that only further rigorous genetic testing will confirm these early findings.  Until the cause of the non-specific flu-like symptoms is confirmed, the CDC is urging anyone returning by sea or air from Hong Kong, Guangdong Province in China, or Hanoi to seek medical help if they suffer such symptoms within one week of departure. Symptoms include fever (greater than 100^o F), one or more signs or symptoms of respiratory illness including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia, radiographic findings of pneumonia or respiratory distress.

Thus far, according to the World Health Organization, SARS is suspected of affecting 350 people on three continents. Through last week, the CDC had identified 13 suspected cases in the US.

The CDC has compiled a list of valuable information resources on SARS, including frequently asked questions on the syndrome. This information can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/.