[aristeides]

I got a flu shot Tuesday. (Most years I don't bother, but I suppose this year the fewer other respiratory infections there are going around, the easier the medical community would find dealing with a recurrence of SARS, if that should occur.)

[wiseone]

They still predict SARS will come back with a vengence this winter!

SARS needs to be regarded as a particularly serious threat for several reasons. The disease has no vaccine and no treatment, forcing health authorities to resort to control tools dating back to the earliest days of empirical microbiology: isolation and quarantine. The virus comes from a family notorious for its frequent mutations, raising important questions about the future evolution of outbreaks and prospects for vaccine development. Epidemiology and pathogenesis are poorly understood. The initial symptoms are non-specific and common. All available diagnostic tests have important limitations. If tests are poorly conducted or results wrongly applied, patients excreting virus and thus capable of infecting others can slip through the safety net of isolation and infection control. The disease continues to show a disturbing concentration in previously healthy hospital staff – the human resource vital to control. A significant proportion of patients require intensive care, thus adding to the considerable strain on hospital and health care systems. Evidence is mounting that certain source cases make a special contribution to rapid spread of infection. The maximum incubation period, currently estimated at 10 days, allows spread via air travel between any two cities in the world. WHO’s most recent analysis estimates overall case fatality in the range of 14% to 15%. In persons over the age of 65, the case fatality ratio can exceed 50%.


http://www.sarswatch.org/sarsmedianews.html

[Dog Gone]

I got one on Tuesday, also. Unfortunately, flu has already hit the Houston area bigtime, way before expected. And the strain is not one that the flu vaccine will protect against.

So I may have gotten a sore arm for nothing, or maybe I'll at least prevent getting the flu twice this year.

This was a fascinating story about suppressing the immune system. That was a big factor last year with SARS, and if this proves out, it could be a lifesaver.