WHO SARS risk assessment and preparedness framework

Overview

This document sets out a framework of activities, at national and international levels, that can be used to assess the risk that SARS might recur and to prepare appropriate contingency plans. Modelled on WHO’s influenza pandemic preparedness plan, the framework adopts a phased approach in which recommended activities escalate in line with the evolving epidemiological situation. Phases are defined by distinct epidemiological criteria, such as the detection of sporadic cases with no secondary spread, the establishment of human-to-human transmission, and evidence of international spread. The possibility that the SARS coronavirus might behave differently than during the 2002–2003 international outbreak is also taken into account.