New Respiratory Viruses and the Elderly

Jartti, Laura; Langen, Henriikka; Söderlund-Venermo, Maria; Vuorinen, Tytti; Ruuskanen, Olli; Jartti, Tuomas

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV (SARS = severe acute respiratory syndrome) initiated in November 2002 in Guangdong province, China. It affected more than 8000 patients and caused 774 (approximately 10%) deaths of all ages on 5 continents during an approximately 12 month period [20, 49, 50] . Infection by SARS-CoV was almost exclusively symptomatic resembling influenza with initial symptoms of fever, myalgia, malaise and chills or rigor [49] . Cough was common, but dyspnea was prominent only later in the course of the illness. Death was usually due to respiratory failure or a sepsis-related syndrome. Advanced age and co-morbidities increased markedly the risk of severe illness [50] . PCR tests have been rapidly developed and serology is also available [19, 20, 49] . No effective treatment is available, but interferons and ribavirin seem to inhibit virus replication [49] . Since the inflammation is part of the pathogenesis of this disease, corticosteroids may also be helpful if combined with antiviral medication [49] . Several new antivirals and vaccine candidates are being investigated.