Comparison between negative pressure isolation room and relative negative pressure isolation room in the infection control of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Backgroud: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused by a novel coronavirus
emerged recently as a highly contagious disease. 1n 2003, Taiwan was classified as a serious
epidemic area due to high prevalence of SARS infection by the World Health Organization.
During the period, several hospital outbreaks of SARS occurred. Many health care workers,
patients and visitors were infected without using adequate precaution when contact with a
patient with SARS. How to efficiently interrupting the transmission of the virus remain an
important issue. For better understanding the infection control strategy during SARS
outbreaks, we conducted a retrospective study to compare the difference of the SARS
infection rate in healthcare worker who worked at negative pressure isolation room and
relative negative pressure isolation room.