KickChick Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 There is a global health alert out now..... the World Health Org is warning travellers to avoid Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. So what is SARS??? (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) It is the name being used to describe the serious disease with pneumonia-like symptoms that first emerged in southern China last year but has since gone on to cause deaths in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Canada. Cases (including three in Britain) have been confirmed in many other countries, mostly among people who had travelled to affected areas of Asia. There is no vaccine or cure! Antibiotics and antiviral treatments have been used to combat the symptoms, but until the cause is determined, investigation on specific treatments cannot begin. The theory is that it is caused by a coronavirus, often the cause of the common cold, which can spread quickly but for which there is no cure. "The family of viruses was first identified in chicken in 1937 and can cause serious illness in a range of animals including cows, pigs, rats, cats and dogs. SARS might therefore turn out to be a zoonosis - an animal disease that threatens humans, too. Traces of paramyxovirus, of the same family of viruses found in measles and mumps, have also been reported by some laboratories. Some scientists speculate that the two viruses have been working together, others that the paramyxovirus is occurring as the result of secondary, unrelated, infections." How many people have been infected? ...About 2300 so far, with nearly 80 deaths - a fatality rate of between 3% and 4%. 6 deaths in Canada... none so far in US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKJ1216 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Hmmm this has got to impose a threat to the maritl arts community. If someone got SARS and took it to the dojo it woudl be very bad. White Belt- Shudokan Karate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theswarm Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 that's a pretty low fatality rate considering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKJ1216 Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 I think I heard somewhere that those who died were mostly elderly or had some sort of other respretory illness. White Belt- Shudokan Karate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobz Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Yea, SARs is causing quite a scare right now. Personally I'm gonna go put myself in an isolation tank cause I'm afraid O.O Rule #1: Play the game to the limit. Damn the consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robwilliams Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Recently, I have been thinking about a holiday in Hong Kong in the near future. However, with the SARS scare, the Australian Government has issued a "Don't Travel" warning for all parts of China. Part of me is scared to go, another part of me wonders if I might get a great deal on airfare and accommodation given that their tourism industry is going to be hit hard by this. Maybe I should play safe, although I do wonder what the actual risk is of contracting the disease ...... Blue Belt TKD (ITF)9th Kyu Karate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaju_influenced Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 KickCHick saidSo what is SARS??? (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Yes thats correct the CDC has also declared the alert of a pandemic(pre-epidemic) so its wise to avoid those areas. The worst thing about it is it is a mutation of the common cold thus no cure for common cold, there has been a plane put under quarentine in t.o and its a pretty big scare. "Sweat more in the dojo,bleed less in the street"Kajukenbo fighters axiom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theswarm Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 i wouldn't worry too much every now and then there's a huge scare about some disease it usually dies out SARS has been around for ages and given that fatality rate i wouldn't worry too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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