Posted on 12/18/2003 4:18:28 PM PST by blam
World wide alert in new Sars scare
A new Sars threat has been revealed after an infected Taiwanese military scientist did not go into strict home quarantine after becoming sick and two of his colleagues travelled to the United States.
A search has also started for for five foreigners who travelled on the same plane as the infected man - a medical researcher - more than a week ago.
So far, at least 90 people in Taiwan and Singapore have been quarantined, though none have developed Sars symptoms.
The developments raise disturbing questions about decisions made by the 44-year-old patient who officials say probably caught Sars while mishandling virus samples in his Taipei lab. Officials allege he was not wearing safety gear, such as a gown and gloves.
Although the researcher suspected that he might have been exposed to the highly contagious virus from a spilled test tube, he flew to Singapore on December 7 to attend a conference, officials said.
Singapore has quarantined 70 people who had contact with the man, identified only by his rank and surname, Lt Col Chan - who has been isolated in Hoping Hospital in Taipei. In China, authorities have ordered all researchers to hand in Sars samples as a precaution against similar lab accidents. In Taiwan, 20 people are under quarantine. These include the man's family, people at a medical clinic he visited after getting sick and some passengers on a plane he had taken from Singapore.
Officials were looking for three Americans, one Japanese and a Singaporean who also flew with the scientist when he returned to Taipei from Singapore on December 10.
When the patient tested positive for Sars on Wednesday, officials said he had quarantined himself at home since developing a fever on the night of his return. Officials have said the man was asymptomatic during his travels and probably did not infect anyone.
Shih Wen-yi, a spokesman for Taiwan's Centre for Disease Control said that the scientist spent the night at his work dormitory on December 10. The next day, his wife drove the researcher - who wore a surgical mask - to a suburban Taipei medical clinic, he said.
After his check-up, the scientist went back home and waited five days before he went to a hospital, Shih said. This was a violation of guidelines that require Sars researchers to seek immediate hospital care, he said.
Story filed: 10:59 Thursday 18th December 2003
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