Introduction

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has wreaked havoc in south-east Asia and other parts of the world, it appears to be a disease that predominantly affects adults. Less than 10% of the infected population in Hong Kong were children (http://www.info.gov.hk/). Among these infected children, only 5% required care in the intensive care unit (ICU) and less than 1% required mechanical ventilation based on the local experience from Hong Kong hospitals. In contrast to its adult counterpart:

• clinical course of affected children was usually milder;

• duration for resolution was shorter;

• potential of children to infect others was lower.

This chapter will discuss the clinical features, radiological presentation, management and outcome of children suffering from SARS based on our institutional experience.

Clinical presentation

Most children with SARS have either been in close contact with infected adults, as a household contact or in a health care setting. These are believed to be the important routes of transmission that put children at a particular risk. Surprisingly, in Hong Kong there has been no major spread of the disease among classmates in schools. This may partly be explained by the early strict hygiene precautions undertaken by schools following a large-scale educational programme conducted by the local government.