Student Health Center SARS guidelines

This guideline has been prepared by the MU Student Health Center in consultation with the University Hospital.

As more information has become available in the past few weeks about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), concerns have been raised about the possibility of students being exposed to SARS through foreign travel and, in turn, exposing other students while enrolled at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The following guidelines have been established based on recommendations received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vast majority of patients with SARS in the U.S. were exposed through foreign travel to countries with community transmission of SARS such as Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, etc. These patients very infrequently transmitted the disease to others and when they did it was to family members and health care workers. Casual contact with a SARS patient at school, other institutions or public gatherings has not resulted in documented transmission in the U.S. In any case the following guideline constitutes the University’s recommendations concerning the appropriate care of a student exposed to SARS patients. Exposure means physical touching someone with SARS, or direct face-to-face exposure within 3 feet.

  1. Students who may have been exposed to SARS should watch for signs and symptoms of SARS. Measure temperature at least twice per day and watch for respiratory symptoms over the 10 days following exposure. During this time, in the absence of both fever and respiratory symptoms, students do not need to limit their activities outside the home and will not be excluded from school or other public areas. However, the exposure should be reported to the Student Health Center (573-882-7481) and to the local public health department (573-874-7355).
  2. Exposed students should notify the Student Health Center and their health care provider immediately if fever over 100.4 F (or 38 C) or respiratory symptoms develop within the 10-day post exposure period. This notification will assist the health care providers in preparing to care for the patient prior to arrival at the clinic, hospital or doctor’s office so that transmission to health care providers and others can be prevented.
  3. Students exposed to SARS who have a fever or respiratory symptoms should not go to school or work but should stay in their place of residence while arranging for a health care evaluation. In addition, the student should use infection control precautions (www.cdc.gov) in the home to minimize the risk of transmission to others and continue to measure temperature twice a day.
    • If the student lives in a dormitory or residence where it is crowded and proper infection control precautions cannot be implemented and maintained, alternate housing arrangements should be made. If there is no such alternative, the student should be hospitalized.
    • If symptoms improve or resolve within 72 hrs after first symptom onset, the student may be allowed, after consultation with the Student Health Center and local public health authorities, to attend school and infection control procedures can be discontinued.
    • For students who progress to meet the definition of SARS (e.g. fever, & respiratory symptoms), infection control procedures should be continued for 10 days after the fever is gone, provided the respiratory symptoms are absent or improving.

Several important points about SARS:

Those at greatest risk are family members and health care providers of persons with SARS. This is because the virus is primarily transmitted through very close contact with secretions or items soiled with them. Patients with SARS are not contagious until signs and symptoms develop. Consistent and thorough hand washing by the patient before contact with others, and by others immediately after touching or other close contact with the patient. The primary methods of decreasing the risk of transmission include having the patient cover the mouth while coughing and disinfecting contaminated items.