SARS: The Real Bio-Terror

I've been getting a lot of e-mail asking about SARS in Hong Kong.

The short answer: the problem is serious but not out-of-control.

The long answer: This bug is nasty. SARS appears to be a new virus; scientists are trying to take it apart to see what makes it tick.

It spread to Hong Kong and then to other countries by one mainland Chinese doctor who had treated patients in Guangdong. The outbreak there affected 300 people and killed five of them. The doctor then travelled to Hong Kong and stayed at the Metropole Hotel in Kowloon. During his stay of only two days, he infected three women from Singapore, an American businessman from Shanghai and a Canadian woman from Toronto.

The women returned home and infected 41 other people. The American became sick on the next leg of his trip to Vietnam, was hospitalised at the Hanoi French Hospital, where 58 others have since been infected, and then moved to a hospital in Hong Kong where he died. The Canadian woman returned home and infected her son; both have since died.

No one working at the hotel became ill.

To date, about 350 people in 13 countries have caught the virus. Twelve have died, including seven in Hong Kong. The new strain comes from the coronaviruses, which are responsible for most ordinary common colds in human beings.

View large image If someone catches it, they'll suffer high fever, dry cough, chills and have severe difficulty breathing. An active, athletic and healthy adult could be placed on a respirator within five days.

The good news is the disease is slow to spread. Most of those who've caught the bug are either medical workers or relatives of patients. The bad news is no specific cure or vaccine exists. Patients are being treated with a drug cocktail of the anti-virus drug Ribavirin and steroids. About 70% of those infected will improve if their illness is diagnosed in time.

Locally, doctors have designed a diagnostic test that can tell if someone has been infected within five to 14 days. Those suspected of having been in contact with a pneumonia patient can be tested to determine if they have the virus before they fall ill, giving them a greater chance of surviving.

The last word: thank God it's not an influenza strain. If it were, we'd be facing a pandemic not seen since the 1918 Spanish Flu.

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