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WHO SAID THAT?

WHO Advises Travelers to Avoid Hong Kong

12 minutes ago

GENEVA - The United Nations (news - web sites) health agency on Wednesday advised travelers to avoid going to Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong because of a deadly outbreak of a mystery disease.

The World Health Organization (news - web sites) said it was taking the action because at least nine foreign businessmen have caught Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in Hong Kong and returned with it to their home countries.

"People who are planning to travel to Hong Kong or Guangdong should consider postponing their travel until another time," said WHO infectious diseases chief Dr. David Heymann.

SARS has killed at least 75 people and sickened more than 1,800, the huge majority in China and Hong Kong.

Until now, the WHO had said that travelers could continue to go to the affected areas but should be aware of the symptoms of the disease and seek medical help quickly if they felt ill.

A number of countries already have advised their citizens to avoid the area, but many others simply followed WHO guidelines.

China on Wednesday reported that there had been 361 new cases of the disease during March, with nine deaths, and two more people died in Canada — a country that was struck by SARS after travelers returned from the region carrying the disease.

Already airlines were reporting that passenger numbers were down on flights to the affected areas, and the alert has had a big impact on Hong Kong business.

WHO has not issued advice to travelers intending to visit other countries hit by the disease. Heymann said the outbreak appears to be under control in Vietnam and work to contain it in Singapore and Canada seems to be succeeding.

Yes.

I read a report from earlier today that said the autopsies in HK (other places?) have revealed SARS causes the deceased to hemorage in the portion of the lungs affected. This is getting scarier and scarier.

"Should consider postponing..."

Here's my dilemma. We're in Taiwan this year, and we've planned for months to visit a dear friend, our daughter's godmother, in Beijing. This was to be the highlight of our year here, to see our friend, to visit the Great Wall, etc.

Now this. We're scheduled to leave from Kaohsiung on Friday, passing through Hong Kong airport.

As of now, we haven't cancelled. Why? Here's my [perhaps tortured] logic. We'll have the highest quality surgical masks. We'll be passing through a virtually empty airport. Our plane will be virtually empty. We'll take high precautions while in the airport and on the plane. We note that despite all the warnings, *most people* who have traveled through Hong Kong have not become ill. If we cancel this trip, we really won't have another chance for many years.

Half the people I know here in Pingtung think I'm wrong to go. The other half say, be careful and go.

What a spot to find oneself.

Exactly.

It would be a lot worse if you and your family got SARS.

Are you going by Chinese figures here? My friend's dad is in Hong Kong, they are out of masks, people are frightened because they know the government doesn't level with him.

You might be quarantined coming back....or worse, have no flights to come back on.


>>> We note that despite all the warnings, *most people* who have traveled through Hong Kong have not become ill.

Half the people I know here in Pingtung think I'm wrong to go. The other half say, be careful and go.

When the UN tells you not to go to Hong Kong, China you know its serious. It has to be serious for them to do ANYTHING that would affect trade in China. No way, would I go.

I know. It's all about weighing the risks. I'll have to decide by tomorrow. This morning I was ready to go. Now I'm leaning the other way.

Any chance you could fly your friend to see you, instead of going to China?

Regards.

Perhaps, but then she'd be the one fretting over what to do. Also, where we are, we really have no way to put up a guest.

What I'm wondering about are the actual odds of contracting the illness given the facts I outlined above. In a near empty airport and a near empty plane, how likely is it that we would be exposed?

This is outta control. The media hype is going to turn caution into panic.
Below is an e-mail I received from the US Consulate in Shanghai today:

---

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT - SARS 

This Public Announcement is being issued to alert U.S.
citizens that the Department of State has authorized
the departure, on a voluntary basis, of non-emergency
employees and all family members at the U.S. Consulate
General in Guangzhou, China, as a precautionary
measure due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
SARS) situation.  The Consulate General remains open
to provide the full range of services to American
citizens and the general public.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recommends U.S. Citizens defer elective or
non-essential travel to areas with a large number of
SARS cases, including Mainland China and Hong Kong.
U.S. citizens resident or traveling in these areas
should closely monitor the website of the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov
and the website of the World Health Organization at
http://www.who.int. for the latest information on
SARS.

For further information on travel to China, U.S.
citizens should also consult the Department of State's
Consular Information Sheets for China, the Fact Sheet
on SARS and the SARS in Asia Public Announcement which
are located at http://www.travel.state.gov.

Beijing: The U.S. Embassy in China is located at 2 Xiu
Shui Dong Jie, Beijing 100600, telephone: (86-10)
6532-3431, 6532-3831, and after-hours: (86-10)
6532-1910; fax (86-10) 6532-4153. The U.S. Embassy web
site address is http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn and
the e-mail address is AmCitBeijing@state.gov. The
Embassy consular district includes the following
provinces/regions of China: Beijing, Tianjin,
Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi,
Qinghai, Xinjiang, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and
Jiangxi.
 
Chengdu: The U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu is
located at Number 4, Lingshiguan Road, Section 4,
Renmin Nanlu, Chengdu 610041, telephone: (86-28)
558-3992, 555- 3119; fax (86-28) 558-3520; after-hours
(86-0)13708001422. This consular district includes the
following provinces/regions of China: Guizhou, Sichuan
Xizang (Tibet), and Yunnan, as well as the
municipality of Chongqing.
 
Guangzhou: The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou is
located at Number 1 South Shamian Street, Shamian
Island 200S1, Guangzhou 510133; telephone: (86-20)
8121-8418;
after-hours: (86-)139-0229-3169; fax: (86-20)
8121-8428.
This consular district includes the following
provinces/regions of China: Guangdong, Guangxi,
Hainan, and Fujian.
 
Shanghai: The U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai is
located at 1469 Huaihai Zhonglu, Shanghai 200031
telephone: (86-21) 6433-6880, after-hours: (86-21)
6433-3936; fax: (86-21) 6471-1493, 6433-4122,
6471-1148. This consular district includes the
followingprovinces/regions of China: Shanghai,
Anhui, Jiangsu,
and Zhejiang.

Shenyang: The U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang is
located at No. 52, 14th Wei Road, Heping District,
Shenyang 110003, telephone: (86-24) 2322-1198, 2322-
0368; after-hours: (86-0) 13704019790; fax (86-24)
2322-2374. This consular district includes the following
provinces/regions of China: Liaoning, Heilongjiang,
and
Jilin.

=====
American Citizen Services
U. S. Consulate General
Shanghai, China 200031
ADD: 1469 Huai Hai Zhong Lu, Shanghai
Tel: 86-21-64336880
Fax: 86-21-64711148

---

Helpful tips: Things you can do about SARS

• Call the CDC in Atlanta and demand they do something. Nobody has done that yet, so you'll be the first.
• Walk in little circles in your yard muttering, "It's coming, it's coming!" The tighter the circles, the better.
• Write as many TV networks and newspapers as you can and demand MORE SARS STORIES. People will stop doing stupid things that spread the disease (like going to China or places where the disease is) if there are enough SARS stories. Remember, even birds stopped migrating because of all the news stories during the West Nile panic.
• Start wearing surgical masks now, everywhere. Even when you sleep. It's never too early.
• Watch TV and stay on the Internet 24/7 to make sure you see all SARS stories and don't miss any. This is important, and really helps.
• Go ahead and start thinking you've caught SARS. That way SARS might think you've already had it.
• Practice one-way breathing -- exhaling only. The more you eliminate inhaling, the better your chances are to avoid SARS. Also start learning to breathe through your ears. Learn to listen through your nose.
• Worry real hard, and a lot. That always works.
• Freep it but good.

Just out of curiosity, why do you think the plane and airport are going to be nearly empty? Is everyone dumping out of HK already? I've really only paid attention to the Canadian angle.

When the UN tells you not to go to Hong Kong, China...

When the UN tells the US to not go to Iraq, what did we do? Who cares what the UN says???
Your chances of getting West Nile Virus in the US are higher...

Statistically, it's not likely you'd be exposed in Beijing; but airplanes and airports are hot zones. If you go, try to sit as far up front in the plane as you can... fresh air enters the cabin up front and flows aft, so if you're "upstream" from a SARS carrier it's less likely you'd be exposed than if you were sitting "downstream" behind them.

Your best bet is to delay the trip until summer, when this thing will either burn itself out, or, we all won't have to worry about making any trips at all.

This is what is being reported here. Plus, our travel agent checked our flight and found that it was only 10% full. I know we're booked on a large jet, not exactly sure what kind. But 10% full is pretty sparse.

"Your chances of getting West Nile Virus in the US are higher..."

The relative risk of getting either virus is difficult to verify or even calculate.

It really depends on the time, the season, and so many other factors that the comparison is a bit difficult to argue in clinical or scientific terms.

Still, your general thinking process is correct and I appreciate you voicing it. I agree with your general sentiments, even if the actual "relative risk" calculation could be off.

Thanks for pointing that out. It seems the scare is showing up here now, even if the media isn't reporting it. I've heard that people are going to the hospital for any slight hint of a cold. It's too bad people don't realize that's a good way to catch a virus in the first place! (ah the joys of socialized medicine...)

Rumor also has it, between doctors and nurses, to avoid certain floors in the hospitals. All of this is whispered and not posted. The price for white vinegar has gone up in other provinces (Shanghai is still OK). The rumor is that boiling vinegar will keep the virus from entering your home...