Guest guest Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2003/2003-04-04-10.asp Mystery Virus Still Spreading, China Apologizes By J.R. Pegg WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2003 (ENS) - Officials with the Chinese government offered an unprecedented apology today for not quickly informing the public about cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the flu like respiratory disease that has now killed more than 80 people in Asia and Canada. This unexpected announcement came as nations across much of the world wrestle with the health and economic impacts of SARS. More than 2,300 people are now infected with SARS worldwide. Scientists worldwide continue to believe SARS is caused by a new form of the coronavirus, but have yet to completely prove this theory. The Chinese government has received sharp criticism from across the world for its reluctance to cooperate with the global effort to determine the cause of SARS, which first appeared in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong last November. " We apologize to everyone, " Li Liming, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control told reporters. He said the Chinese government faulted its own poor coordination between the nation's medical departments and its media. Chinese officials also confirmed today the first case of SARS in Shanghai, the nation's most populous city. Hong Kong is struggling to contain SARS, but health officials say most people are recovering from the illness. (Photo courtesy LORD Cultural Resources Planning and Management)China only began fully cooperating with the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this week. Scientists with the United Nations organization are now in southern China investigating the virus, but they have warned not to expect quick or easy answers. WHO officials have indicated that the SARS virus could have jumped to humans from an animal species. There are some 13 forms of the coronavirus, some which infect humans, cattle, pigs, rodents, dogs and chickens. Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say they are increasingly confident that SARS is caused by a new form of coronavirus, which could make it difficult to contain. Two forms of coronavirus cause one third of all common colds and there are no know antiviral drugs shown to be consistently successful in treating coronavirus infections. " This does appear to be a contagious respiratory infection and you know how difficult it is to control the common cold, " said CDC Director Julie Gerberding. " Even influenza, where we have a vaccine, is an illness that still causes infection in a large number of people. " The global community has to take this very seriously and do everything we can to curtail spread now and stay on top of it. " Early signs show that the scientists in China are finding further evidence that SARS is not just spread through direct contact. " There is something in the environment, " said David Heymann, WHO's director of communicable diseases. On Monday, Hong Kong officials quarantined a block of the Amoy Gardens housing complex because more than 200 people from this block had contracted SARS, providing the possibility that the virus could be airborne or waterborne because. The investigation into the housing complex, called Amoy Gardens, is looking into whether a burst sewage pipe could be linked to transmission of the virus. Global air travel has been a major contributor to the global spread of SARS. (Photo courtesy by Ian Britton courtesy FreeFoto.com)Hong Kong police are hunting for 200 people from Amoy Gardens who have avoided the quarantine, which is set to last through April 10. Hong Kong officials said an additional 27 patients with symptoms of SARS where admitted to public hospitals today. These include eight more people from the Amoy Gardens housing complex, five healthcare workers and 14 new patients. But Hong Kong Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said that most of the patients already in hospital were responding very well to the existing treatment with Ribavirin and steroids. The WHO now estimates that the SARS virus is fatal for about four percent of those infected, most often when the individual has an underlying condition. Some 90 percent of individuals appear to recover after a week of being infected. Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said today they have begun work on an early vaccine for SARS. The vaccine development assumes that early indications the virus is a new form of the coronavirus. " People are taking this unbelievably seriously, " said Dr. Brian Murphy, co-chief of the laboratory of infectious diseases at the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Even if efforts go smoothly, any proven vaccine is at least a year away and the quick spread of SARS demonstrates the world's susceptibility to new infectious diseases. Within six weeks, SARS has spread to more than 15 countries across the world. Asia has been hit the hardest, but there are confirmed cases in Canada, the United States, Europe and Brazil. Australia and India now suspect they may have individuals with SARS. U.S. President George W. Bush today issued an executive order that would allow the quarantine of patients with SARS. Some 100 Americans are believed to have the virus. Canada confirmed its seventh death from SARS today and it is the only country outside of Asia to have suffered fatalities from the disease. Although Canadian authorities believe they have SARS well contained, fears over the disease prompted the cancellation of a five day meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The meeting was to be held in Toronoto, with an estimated 16,000 people expected to attend from around the world. The decision to cancel the meeting came on Thursday, two days after attendees had been informed that the meeting would carry on as scheduled. The cancellation of a meeting expected to draw 16,000 has added to Toronto's SARS woes. (Photo courtesy City of Toronto)Canadian health officials said the cancellation was unnecessary and tried to assure the public that the virus was not a significant threat. Toronto officials say the city could lose some $13 million ($20 million Canadian) from decreased tourist revenues because of the SARS scare. SARS has caused economic shockwaves across the world, through cancellations of global concerts and sporting events in Hong Kong and China, and a further decline in world travel. On Wednesday, WHO officially warned travelers not to travel to Hong Kong or Guangdong province unless absolutely necessary and countries around the world have stepped up screening for individuals arriving from Asian countries with confirmed SARS cases. Thailand officials say the impact on the country's economy from SARS is worse than the U.S. war on Iraq. Toronto officials said the city's tourist losses resulting from the SARS scare could reach C$20 million ($13 million). Hong Kong officials report that 10 percent of flights into the city have been cancelled in the past three days. For many, the SARS outbreak is a precursor of what is to come. Infectious diseases are nothing new, but global travel facilitates the spreading of such diseases and the ability of individual nations, and the world as a whole, to respond is being called into question. " We live in a global village and we must be prepared to deal with emerging infections on a regular basis, " CDC's Gerberding said. " That is really the pattern that we are seeing increasingly as our global village becomes more dense with people, and has more travel. " advertisment --> Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2003 Gettingwell- / Vitamins, Herbs, Aminos, etc. To , e-mail to: Gettingwell- Or, go to our group site: Gettingwell Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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