SARS

[KickChick]

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

[BKJ1216]

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.

[theswarm]

that's a pretty low fatality rate considering

[BKJ1216]

I think I heard somewhere that those who died were mostly elderly or had some sort of other respretory illness.

[hobz]

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

[robwilliams]

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 ......

[Kaju_influenced]

KickCHick said

So 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.

[theswarm]

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