Air Travel 'Fuelled SARS Spread'

More than 800 people died in the global Sars outbreak Scientists investigating the rapid spread of the Sars virus earlier this year say they have evidence that air travel played a role.

But experts found that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was been passed on only in cases where carriers exhibited the symptoms of the virus.

The study, in The New England Journal of Medicine, said passengers who sat closest to carriers were most at risk.

Sars killed over 800 people, infecting up to 8,000, in the worldwide outbreak.

In the course of their research, the international team of scientists interviewed passengers and crew who had flown with patients infected with Sars.

In one flight alone, 22 out of 119 people on board might have been infected by just one individual, they said

It appeared that people seated up to three rows in front of infected passengers were most at risk of contracting the disease, the report's authors said.

They said no passengers were known to have contracted Sars on flights where a person was carrying the Sars virus but was not yet showing the symptoms.

In another article in the same publication, researchers in Toronto, Canada, said the findings may explain why in most cases transmission of the virus occurred in hospital.

The BBC's health correspondent, Ania Lichtarowicz, says the research highlights how vitally important it is to identify Sars cases early and to take precautions before infected individuals can transmit the virus further.

In the latest suspected outbreak of the disease, authorities in Singapore quarantined 70 people who came into contact with a scientist who tested positive for Sars on Wednesday.

Did you see this post:

Earlier media reports suggested the Flight CA-112 flight (2 in report) had even more consequences than described in the paper, which indicated 22 on board developed SARS from the index case. The report listed 4 from Taiwan, but media reports indicated that there were 6 from Taiwan who developed SARS. The article indicated that 5 passengers subsequently died and they transmitted SARS to 13 others, two of whom died.

I suspect the numbers were considerably higher. The index case arrived in Beijing on March 15 and died on March 20. While in Beijing he was transferred to several hospitals, and HCW's trying to revive him contracted SARS. However, I suspect much more SARS was transmitted by the two flight attendants who were the index cases for Hohhot. I believe one of the husbands of the flight attendants died and several hundred in Hohhot developed SARS. At least one of the attendants developed symptoms, but was told to keep flying. I'm not sure how many of her flights were investigated.

However, the paper looked at two other flights. I believe that one was with the pre-symptomatic patient who I suspect was the source of TW1, which didn't have any mutations other than the standard Metropole Hotel mutations.

The other flight was the one returning the Taiwanese passengers. 4 (or 6) developed SARS, although no one on the flight did. However, media reports indicated that an 8 year old son of one of the infected passengers developed SARS in Taiwan.

Of interest from a political point of view was the two Chinese government officials. One flew back to Beijing from Bangkok. He subsequently died. I believe it was the other official who flew back to Beijing and sat next to Pekka Aro. Pekka Aro was a government official from Finland. He developed SARS in Beijing and died in route back to Hong Kong after his condition deteriorated at the hospital in Beijing. His death made it clear that there was a SARS problem in Beijing. At the time, the government was still denying that there was a problem in Beijing.

Media reports also indicated that a least one of the people serving high government officials developed SARS and this further heightened SARS awareness in government officials.

Thus, flight CA-112 probably led to significantly SARS cases in Beijing as well and Hohhot and brought SARS very up close and personal to high government officials.

" Pekka Aro was a government official from Finland. He developed SARS in Beijing and died in route back to Hong Kong after his condition deteriorated at the hospital in Beijing. His death made it clear that there was a SARS problem in Beijing. At the time, the government was still denying that there was a problem in Beijing."

Thanks for posting this. The Finnish connection is of interest. Until an outside government was involved the Chinese were prepared to cover this up and continue pointing at Chlamydia as the cause. For all we know they have cases now.

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