Is my friend being reasonable about this potential medical threat?

Factual Questions
1

I’m on an email listserv for what could charitably be called a group of people who are rather eccentric (shocker to those fo you who know me, I’m sure:)). Yesterday, one of the members posted this (and gave me permission to post it here):

SARS - Severe acute respiratory syndrome or “super-pneumonia”

WHO website (English–links at upper right to French and Spanish):
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_03_25/en/

CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/

BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/health/2887569.stm

Some think it is caused by a coronavirus, like a cold, others by a
paramyxovirus, like rinderpest (GAH!!). One article which I can’t find
again says it might be caused by both together.

If this is binary (caused only by both at once), as I understand it, you
could catch it even without coming near a SARS patient.

A SARS patient would be infected by both “A” and “B” viruses. Others could
be running around with either A or B, neither of which is particularly
noticeable.

You could catch A from somebody who seems to have a mere cold. Then, you
run into somebody who has B and is only wheezing a bit.

Now you have A + B = SARS.

Although this is only a speculation, it could be a very scary deal. I am
going to be using more than ordinary precautions against colds for a while.

I should note that she has no more medical expertise nor experience than most of us (and is not a medical professional). What is there to know about this, and how serious is it?

2

This story talks about 2 people in Connecticut who have just been diagnosed with SARS. Apparently they both got it from outside the country.

3

I’m surprised I haven’t seen this discussed earlier here on SDMB (I saw it briefly mentioned in that coke & onion thread). It was a significant news item beside the war for the last week or so over here. Every day the papers have some news about this (an eighth page or so).

Apparently it is a pneumonia-like disease that is not yet treatable, of which people die within a couple of days. It seems to originate from Hong Kong or thereabout (mainland China apparently), someone who had it contaminated travelers in a hotel, an American businessman who got it there spread it further, a doctor who treated some patients spread it on a plane. It does not seem to be too contagious, you have to be in pretty close proximity (breath the same air or so). They have already determined it is some kind of virus or so.

Now the hospitals have been warned they can take proper precautions when checking in suspected patients. People are still wary, but the first scare is over since it seems possible to keep it under control.

4

I live in Hong Kong. It’s a big deal here, (although perhaps more in terms of its economic effects than the number of dead) but until you hear otherwise, I think in North America a cold is still just a cold.

5

Hong Kong has invoked some quarrantine restrictions to anyone who’s been exposed to the virus

50 people world wide have died from it

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s818286.htm

6

Bosda started a MPSIMS thread on SARS shortly after reports began circulating in the media. It’s chock full of links, if anyone’s interested.

7

Here there have been some voluntary quarantine requests made, including everyone who visited a hospital (for any length of time or reason) to stay home for 10 days, and a provincial emergency declared.

The airport urged to screen for SARS:
http://www.torontostar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035780011348&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

Disease fuels quarantine alert:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035779893361&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845

Health Canada website, they’ve issued travel advisories for certain locations:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/new_e.html

People wiser than me deem this worthy of concern here in Toronto, although they’ve made it clear that we all shouldn’t all panic. They also have been able to trace the infection as being transmitted only from other confirmed cases, as far as I can tell.

There’s a whole whack of links off the Health Canada website too.

8

I live in connecticut. There is a large population of families here who have adopted Chinese Children, mainly girls. Recently, there was a ten year study on the girls, and some of the professors involved went to China. I am not saying this has anything to do with the incident in CT, but it is an odd coincidence that the cited article above deals with a university in CT.

9

The war is really eclipsing this story, which would otherwise be getting much more coverage. To sum up some recent developments:

**1. US government curtailing official travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan **
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/americas/view/35963/1/.html

2. The World Health Organisation is calling for airport screening
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,179767,00.html

3. Hong Kong and Singapore have closed schools to curb the outbreak
http://www.iht.com/articles/91371.html

4. 50 people are dead so far, 1400+ more infected, 50 of these are Americans
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/03/27/mystery.illness/

5. China originally hushed up the disease, but now admits 34 deaths

Let us not forget that the deadly flu after the First World War killed at least 20 million people - far more than died in the War itself - and may have killed as many as 40 million.

All that said, we have access to a much wider and stronger range of medicines now, and screening technology.

10

I am in the thick of it (so haven’t been able to post much recently).

Media reports to the contrary, the virus is not that easy to acquire. It seems to be spread by “droplets” which rapidly sink to the floor/ground and is NOT transmitted by aerosol. So, unless someone coughs or sneezes right onto you, or you’re unlucky enough to immediately walk into the spray of a recent cough/sneeze, you’re not going to get it.

Except for the index cases, all the cases around here, and we’re at the epicentre, have been in those who weren’t wearing masks and who had close (ie. < 1 to 2 meters) contact with a victim. By and large, this means doctors, nurses, and close family members.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest or support the notion that the virus is acquired through the handling of inanimate objects (fomites).

The case fatality rate also seems to be less than originally feared, perhaps 3 to 5 percent (in fact, it’s probably even less since people with mild cases aren’t included in the denominator of such a calculation).

11

I am in the thick of it too. Schools are closed, parents are frantic, the youngesters do not give a damn and I am forced to drink coke mixed with onion…

Though the Ministry of Health said pretty much what was said above (the virus is not that easy to get, influezna is far worse, you need to be in close contact and touch the bodily fluids and etc.

Then the people here retort “Well, those people who went to Hong Kong was just shopping and visiting places of interest and they got it. What gives?”

That why I have to drink coke + onion together. Sigh~

I am not sure about the A + B part though. The newspapers said naught about it too. Are they supressing information…? Hmm.

12

:confused:

My suggestion is you go get yourself an education on the WHO website.

13

The disease has an estimated fatality rate of 4%. Not serious. It is also not transmitted airborne, but through small droplets from coughing and sneezing.

The disease causing body is quite certainly to be a new strain of corona virus. It’s life expectancy outside the human body is 3 hours.

The main route of transmission is touching a contaminated surface with your hand, then touching your eye, nose, or mouth. You can eliminate the risk by washing your hands with soap or cleaning with alcohol.

Updated WHO info

14

My apologies. I should have mentioned that I have not medical expertise whatsoever and only mentioned what I remembered from reading the newspapers. (However, I did state ‘apparently’ and ‘-like’ to indicate only so-so reliable info).

15

In that case, the best course of action is to link to the most recent newspaper article you can find (let the reporter take the heat if he’s passing on bad information!) or just refrain from posting.

Passing on suspect information is always frowned upon here, especially when it’s a medical topic. Your qualifiers (apparently and -like) don’t make it clear whether you are unsure if you’re remembering your sources right, or whether the authorities are unsure.

Just some friendly advice. :slight_smile:

16

Podkayne, Urban Ranger, you’re right. I’ll keep my ignorance to myself and only share knowledge in GQ. :slight_smile:

17

just curious, i wonder what it would mean to catch a normal high fever at this time for those in the thick of it?

18

It was quite chaotic near the beginning, and people were pretty close to panic. Don’t worry, it’s neither very infectious nor deadly. It’s not really worse than a flu - considering some flus killed hundreds of thousands of people.

19

it’s not very deadly but it might be airborne

20

My thread on the subject, with lots o’ links.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169482&perpage=40&pagenumber=1