Posted on 03/17/2003 9:11:54 PM PST by stilts
A WOMAN has died and another is seriously ill in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), after being struck by a flu-like virus.
Doctors are concerned it may be the same mystery virus sweeping through Asia, which sparked a global health warning from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
A 20-year-old Bahraini woman died last week in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU), after being admitted with a lung infection.
Two days ago, a 28-year-old Bahraini woman was admitted suffering from similar symptoms and was yesterday described as being in a "bad condition" by one doctor.
A three-week-old boy is now recovering in ICU after being admitted with similar symptoms last week.
A number of other patients have apparently been admitted to general wards.
Doctors say tests have been carried out to establish whether the virus is the same one that has struck in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Canada.
"We don't know exactly what virus it is," consultant critical care physician Dr Adel Ghuloom told the GDN yesterday.
"We don't want to scare people, but one lady died last week from the same condition.
"Maybe it is not related to the so-called mystery virus, but people have been admitted suffering flu-like symptoms.
"They have a high fever, difficulty breathing and pneumonia in both lungs.
"The lungs require lots of oxygen and they just collapse."
The woman currently being treated in ICU is not thought to have travelled outside Bahrain.
Now the Public Health department has been brought in to investigate the case and carry out more tests.
However, it is not clear when the results of those tests will be known.
Meanwhile, the three-week-old boy was said to be in a stable condition after being admitted to the hospital over a week ago.
"He came in with flu-like symptoms and pneumonia," said paediatric critical care specialist Dr Adel Abdulla.
"He was on a ventilator for a few days, but he made it. He has now come off the machine and is doing fine."
Although it is not clear whether the illness is the same as that which has baffled doctors across Asia, it has been confirmed as a viral condition.
"Tests we are doing show it is viral, but if it is the same one we do not know," said Dr Abdulla.
Having recently read Ken Alibek's book "BioHazard" I look at these things so differently. In the book, he talks about bio accidents that happened in China and Russia during the weaponization of various viruses causing many deaths that were covered up by the respective governments. I sure hope this thought is strictly a product of my paranoia and worthy of Tin-foil hat status.
I was thinking the same thing. I did read a report that people are responding to treatment of this SARS infection.
This was the first thought that came to my mind too.
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