Mysterious Respiratory Virus Could Be Airborne

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http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2003/2003-03-31-10.asp

 

 

Mysterious Respiratory Virus Could Be Airborne

By J.R. Pegg

 

WASHINGTON, DC, March 31, 2003 (ENS) - Hong Kong health officials are taking

unprecedented steps to contain the mystery virus that has killed 58 people

worldwide amid new fears it could be waterborne or airborne. Early Monday the

Hong Kong Department of Health quarantined one block of a large apartment

complex where more than 200 people have the disease, called Severe Acute

Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

" We needed to have this isolation order to protect the public and the

residents, " Hong Kong Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong told

reporters Monday.

Of the 203 infected residents of Hong Kong's Amoy Garden, a 10 building housing

estate in the Kowloon district, 107 resided in Block E - now under a 10 day

quarantine.

Most of the Block E residents were from apartments that are vertically arranged

within the 35 story building and this gives rise to the concern the virus could

water or airborne, Hong Kong health officials said.

Yeoh said officials have not ruled out transmission through the building's sewer

system. Some 15,000 people live in the Amoy Garden housing estate. Hong Kong is

home to some seven million people. (Photo courtesy Massachusetts Institute of

Technology)Scientists still do not know the cause of SARS or how to cure the

more than 1,600 people infected worldwide.

Prior to this latest development in Hong Kong, health officials believed the

disease was spread only through close contact with an infected person.

But this finding appears to support evidence reported last week by officials

from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), who said SARS could be caused

by a new form of Coronavirus. Other forms of Coronavirus cause the common cold,

which can be easily spread through the air.

" We may be in the very early stages of what could be a much larger problem, "

said CDC Director Julie Gerberding told reporters Saturday.

Laboratory evidence from at least seven different countries supports a link

between SARS and Coronavirus, Gerberding said.

Coronavirus can survive in the environment for two to three hours, Gerberding

explained, and it is possible the new virus could be airborne as well as

transferable through objects contaminated by an infected person.

" We are very concerned about the spread of this virus, particularly in Asia, "

Gerberding said. " It is a respiratory virus, it does appear to be transmitted

very efficiently, and what we know about respiratory viruses suggests that the

potential for infecting large numbers of people is very great. "

World health officials believe SARS originated in China, which has reported 800

infected and 34 dead. Chinese officials had been reluctant to cooperate with the

World Health Organization (WHO), but have softened their position in recent

days. Hong Kong has reported 610 infected and 13 dead. CDC Director Julie

Gerberding is growing increasingly convinced that SARS is caused by a new form

of Coronavirus. Photo courtesy Centers for Disease ControlWHO officials now

believe the outbreak of the disease could have begun as early as November 2002

in southern China.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization also find SARS responsible

for the deaths of four people in Vietnam, four in Canada, two in Singapore and

one in Thailand.

On Saturday the disease claimed the life of the doctor who identified it, Carlo

Urbani, a 46 year old Italian. Urbani identified the disease in an American

businessman admitted to a hospital in Vietnam in February.

The more than 1,600 infected people are spread across 13 countries, including 91

in Singapore, 58 in Vietnam, 44 in Canada, as well as 59 in the United States.

The other countries where SARS has been found are France, Germany, Italy,

Ireland, Romania, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Although experts believe more than 90 percent of those infected recover from

SARS, there is no known treatment. Hong Kong officials are not the only ones

that have resorted to drastic measures.

Taiwanese officials have confined some 500 people to their homes and closed some

of its limited links to China.

In Singapore, some 1,500 people have been quarantined and some airline

passengers are being screened upon arrival.

In Canada, which has seen the worst of the disease outside of Asia, some 30

individuals have been quarantined in British Columbia. Two hospitals were closed

in Ontario, including the Scarborough Grace Hospital, which is considered by

Canadian health officials to be the epicenter of the nation's outbreak. Hong

Kong's Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said his government

regretted having to take such strong measures to contain the virus. Photo

courtesy Hong Kong Department of HealthThe effectiveness of these quarantines is

up for debate. Hong Kong officials, for example, did not reach all residents of

the quarantined block of Amoy Gardens by Monday. It is feared that many may have

fled rather than be quarantined.

Officials said simple things, like frequent hand washing, could help stem the

spread of the disease. " Prevention of this disease involves very good

environmental and personal hygiene, " Yeoh said.

The disease has underscored growing fears about the potential for an infectious

disease to spread rapidly and easily, especially in heavily populated areas.

SARS is beginning to have an economic impact on Asia. The leading Asian stock

markets all fell on Monday as airlines continued to cancel flights to the

region.

Health experts are hoping that increased cooperation from China will produce

much needed insights into the virus and the outbreak, Gerberding explained.

" The biggest unknown is what is going on in China and we are desperate to learn

more about the scope and magnitude of the problem there. " Gerberding said, " I

think [that] will be the biggest predictor for where this will be headed over

the next few weeks. "

 

 

 

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