Community Health Nursing

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John Doe Community Health Nursing Task #3/ Part B SARS Infection Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first noted in 2003. The syndrome is caused by the coronavirus. It is a highly contagious virus which was first detected in China. It rapidly spread to 37 countries. The symptoms of SARS may initially resemble flu like symptoms: high fever, fatigue, cough, sore throat. As the symptoms progress the patient may start to have difficulty breathing. With these symptoms the virus will begin to resemble more of an influenza type virus. A suspected SARS infection can be diagnosed with proper laboratory testing and chest x-ray. Treatment is limited to preventing complications and keeping the affected patient comfortable. To prevent the spread of SARS, it is important to keep the patient isolated in a negative pressure room with isolation precautions taken by all those involved in patient care. SARS Outbreak With even a suspected SARS case, the community health care nurse would be reporting to and working closely with the local health department, which would be working with the state health department. Once the SARS case was confirmed with appropriate testing it would be important to contain the virus as much as possible, immediately. The local health department would be involved and working closely with the healthcare clinic and the local hospital. All those suspected of the infection would be admitted and placed in isolation to prevent further spread of the infection. Approriate isolation precautions would be implemented to ensure proper healthcare interventions and treatment for those affected by the virus. As the community healthcare nurse it will be important to provide some sense of peace to the community once the outbreak is announced. The community healthcare nurse would be part

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