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Environmental News Service
Scientists continue to express confidence that the disease is a mutated form of a virus that causes the common cold, but are not yet able to completely confirm this suspicion. Two more Asian nations reported their first cases of SARS today, as scientists and health officials across the world continued the scramble to identify the new respiratory virus that has now killed at least 116 people in Asia and Canada. Indonesia and the Philippines joined the list of nations with reported cases of SARS, bringing the total to 20, and several nations stepped up security measures to try and contain the spread of the disease. Heymann said it is not surprising that additional countries are reporting cases of SARS as health officials become more adept at responding to symptoms of the respiratory illness. As of today, the WHO reports some 2,890 cases of SARS in 20 countries, including 116 deaths and 1,373 individuals confirmed to have recovered from the respiratory illness. Most countries appear to be successfully containing the disease, he said, but there is particular concern about a few "hot zones" - China, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore and Hanoi - that "give rise to considerable concern." Local transmission of SARS has only been confirmed in these five regions. "One of the most alarming features of SARS in these areas is its rapid spread in hospitals, where it has affected a large number of previously healthy health care workers," Heymann said. And in these hot zones, he explained, SARS is "continuing to spread despite the introduction of strict patient isolation and excellent infection control." Despite progress on confirming the virus is a new or mutated form of coronavirus, other forms of which cause the common cold, scientists are still uncertain how the SARS virus is spread and are unaware of any effective treatment. Many scientists believe the virus could have jumped from animals to humans - there are some 13 forms of the coronavirus, some which infect humans, cattle, pigs, rodents, dogs and chickens. So far, SARS appears to be fatal for about four percent of those infected. Most individuals who have died from SARS had some underlying health ailment. Early indications that it was only spread through direct face to face contact were complicated last week, when Hong Kong health officials said they though the virus could be airborne or waterborne.
Early last week, Hong Kong officials quarantined a block of a huge 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.
Hong Kong health officials say they no longer believe the virus is airborne but continue to investigate whether a burst sewage pipe could be linked to transmission of the virus. The lack of certainty about SARS has given rise to some wild speculation - reports that the disease could be spread by cockroaches swirled around Hong Kong earlier this week, but have since been refuted. There are "lots of studies going on," Heymann said, "but no answers." Hong Kong is reeling from the health and economic impact of SARS - the region has suffered more cases and deaths of anywhere other than mainland China and reported an additional two dead and 61 infected over the past 48 hours. Today Hong Kong officials ordered all contacts of patients with known cases to be quarantined for a period of 10 days, and during that period they will not be permitted to leave the region. "The most effective way to avoid the disease is to maintain good personal and public hygiene," Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa said today. "It is imperative to improve the hygiene of our living environment." Singapore began implementing a new policy today, quarantining for 10 days all foreigners arriving from SARS affected countries to work in the city state. Health officials and law enforcement officers continue to track some 534 residents who are under quarantine. Malaysian officials said they will no longer issue visas to people from countries affected by SARS. Thailand now requires visitors from SARS-affected countries in Asia to wear face masks at all times while in the country, even though many scientists doubt the effectiveness of the masks in preventing transmission of the disease. Canada placed more than 100 employees at a Hewlett Packard plant in Ontario under quarantine after a worker showed up at work despite having SARS symptoms. At least 10 people in Canada have died of SARS and some 98 have contracted the illness. Canada is the only nation outside of Asia to have reported deaths from SARS. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is investigating whether a Florida man may have spread the disease to a coworker - this would be the first transmission of the disease within the United States. At least 166 people in the United States have SARS. "It is possible for this virus to spread very quickly under certain circumstances," CDC Director Julie Gerberding told reporters Thursday. German airline Lufthansa is scrambling to contact passengers and employees who may have come into contact with a man who took seven flights on the airline less than a week before he was diagnosed with SARS. The individual, who has not been named, started and ended his journey in Hong Kong, with stops in London, Frankfurt, Munich and Barcelona. Lufthansa has told the public that its aircraft have efficient filter systems, and the World Health Organization agreed that the risk of air passengers spreading the disease midflight is extremely low. There are 17 laboratories in nine countries involved with studying the new disease, but many believe some important answers may still be found in China. Heymann said WHO's research team in Guangdong believes the epidemic has peaked in that province, but they are "very concerned" that there are unreported cases throughout China. Additional WHO research teams are moving on to Beijing and Shanghai to follow up on conflicting reports that the situation in these urban centers, in particular Beijing, is more serious that what the Chinese government has reported. Chinese health officials pledged increased cooperation, but still appear guarded about the extent of its insight into the scope of the SARS epidemic in China. "China is such a vast country with huge population that it is an enormous task to conduct broad investigations on some unidentified disease," Chinese Vice Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei told reporters Thursday. " I believe the work of reporting epidemic situations will be improved after we take the measures." The global economic impact of SARS, mostly from reduced travel, could be as high as $30 billion, Heymann said. WHO officials said today that they do not currently believe that any goods, product or animals arriving from SARS affected areas pose a risk to public health. The organization is working with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to look for evidence that a SARS related disease has occurred in animals. It will take weeks or months to determine whether SARS is indeed another endemic infectious disease in humans, Heymann said, but it is clear that close cooperation between nations is essential to combating the disease. "In a world where all national borders are porous when confronted by a microbial threat, it is in the interest of all populations for countries to share the information they may have as soon as it is available," he said. "In so doing, they will allow both near and distant countries, all neighbors in our globalized world, to benefit from the understanding they have gained." |
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David Heymann is the executive director of communicable diseases for the World Health Organization