SARS cases on the rise in Canada, may be spreading even further, 12 people showing symptoms

Globe And Mail ^ | 03-23-03 | Canadian Press

[Mother Abigail]

SARS cases on the rise in Canada

Canadian Press

Toronto — Two more people in Ontario are suspected of having the deadly and mysterious severe acute respiratory syndrome, health officials said Sunday. One of the two new cases is categorized as probable and the other as suspected, Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Health, told reporters Sunday. Also, the emergency ward of the Scarborough Hospital's Grace division in east-end Toronto has been closed to allow medical staff to focus on the disease.

The two new cases bring Ontario's total to 10 probable and four suspected, said Allison McGeer, head of infection control for Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Three of the probable cases have died thus far.

The illness may be spreading even further as public health staff are monitoring another cluster of about 12 people who appear to be showing symptoms of SARS. Sunday's news comes a day after officials announced that a third victim, who had been classified as a probable case, had died Friday.

It's believed the man in his 70s contracted SARS after being placed in an observation room with Chi Kwai Tse, a 44-year-old man who later died. Mr. Tse was the son of Sui-chu Kwan, the first Toronto person to die of the illness

[blam]

"The illness may be spreading even further as public health staff are monitoring another cluster of about 12 people who appear to be showing symptoms of SARS. "

Thanks. Keep the updates coming.

[Mother Abigail]

I will try

[Mother Abigail]

Attention News/Health Editors:

Toronto EMS Paramedic ambulance services will not be affected by temporary closure of Scarborough Hospital - Grace Division emergency department

TORONTO, March 23 /CNW/ -

Emergency Medical Services - Toronto Emergency Medical Services announced today that its regular paramedic ambulance services to the public will not be affected by the decision of Scarborough Hospital - Grace Division to close its emergency department temporarily in order to provide an appropriate level of care for patients suspected of having Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS). Dr. Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Health, announced the closure today during his SARS update.


"Toronto EMS has considerable experience in redistributing patient calls during the temporary emergency department closures that occur from time to time, most recently in December during the outbreak of the Norwalk-like virus," said Peter Macintyre, Manager, Community Safeguard Services. "Emergency Medical Dispatchers will direct paramedic crews to the closest available facility during the temporary closure of the Scarborough Hospital - Grace Division ED."

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Only Hong Kong has closed a Hosital to new patients due to SARS, has a bad feel to it...

[Conservateacher]

What are the symptoms of this virus?

[Judith Anne]

Closing an ER is a big deal, imho...if the ER is closed, other potential cases which might arise will have to be routed to different hospitals, and their ER's will have to close if it is confirmed...etc...

I don't know how Canada's system works, but we do get direct admissions from dr's offices...the closing of the ER means that potential patients might carry the pathogen to those in the dr's waiting room, his clerical staff, and to the dr himself in a small exam room...

Actually, this seems like a nightmare...

[Judith Anne]

Just re-reading what you posted earlier...if the ambulance crews are transporting these people....have any of them been affected I wonder? Actually, that's just a rhetorical question...I haven't seen anything in the articles that mentions ambulance crews, I'm just thinking they're at risk. That's a very close environment.

[blam]

"Actually, this seems like a nightmare..."

This troubles me more than the possibility of a terrorist attack.

[Mother Abigail]

- Fever (greater than 38 degrees Celsius) and respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty; AND

- have travelled to Hong Kong, Hanoi or Guangdong province in China, within 2 weeks of onset of the symptoms; or

- are a close contact of persons diagnosed with SARS. (Close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a person with SARS)

[Mother Abigail]

Unknown

[Domestic Church]

Yep. This has been my fear, that it will be the Drs offices and ERs that will shut down first until they take one hospital as the SARs (and only SARs) facility. Each area needs to get on the ball NOW and the Department of Health should designate or set up a specific site for this.

[Mother Abigail]

Hong Kong to shut schools hit by flu

HONG KONG: Hong Kong, which is battling to stop the spread of a deadly form of pneumonia, ordered all schools be disinfected and said yesterday it would shut for a week any school with a child or staff member ill with the disease.

Education Secretary Arthur Li also told a news conference he was ordering about 180 children with family members infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) to stop attending classes for a week from today.

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In 48 hours this has gone from 3 schools to 5 schools to all schools - to be disinfected

Hong Kong is the key

[Judith Anne]

This is from another thread that Mother Abigail graciously started: For next 2 weeks: TTSH won't take in new patients, A&E also closed By Li-Ann Wee TAN Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is not where you would go in the next fortnight, unless you suspect you may be coming down with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). The 1,500-bed hospital is not admitting new patients for the next two weeks, so that resources can be used more effectively to isolate and treat Sars cases, and reduce the risk of the infection spreading. If they're closing a 1500 bed hospital to new admissions except for SARS cases, that's huge. To me, that indicates an immediate expectation of a huge influx of patients far in excess of the several hundred admitted to now...

[Mother Abigail]

Ping

[Judith Anne]

This is from another thread that Mother Abigail graciously started:

For next 2 weeks: TTSH won't take in new patients, A&E also closed

By Li-Ann Wee

TAN Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is not where you would go in the next fortnight, unless you suspect you may be coming down with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

The 1,500-bed hospital is not admitting new patients for the next two weeks, so that resources can be used more effectively to isolate and treat Sars cases, and reduce the risk of the infection spreading.

If they're closing a 1500 bed hospital to new admissions except for SARS cases, that's huge. To me, that indicates an immediate expectation of a huge influx of patients far in excess of the several hundred admitted to now...

(paragraphs are my friend. paragraphs are my friend. paragraphs are my friend.)

[Mother Abigail]

Yes, and also indicative of a Hot Zone

[Koblenz]

Have any non-Asians (ethnically speaking) gotten this disease yet? I read on a different thread here that this disease had only been contracted by Asians, although it'd be almost impossible for a disease to really work this way...

[Judith Anne]

Could you please point me to that thread?

[Mother Abigail]

Deaths by country

Vietnam 2

Canada 3

Hong Kong 8

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Ethnicity has not been listed, as of yet, but most cases are Asian.

If I remember correctly there might be one non-asian case.

Better case breakdowns will follow in the next few days....

[blam]

"If they're closing a 1500 bed hospital to new admissions except for SARS cases, that's huge. To me, that indicates an immediate expectation of a huge influx of patients far in excess of the several hundred admitted to now... "

It's gotten me thinking of the 'six degrees of seperation' thing. The folks working in my favorite Chinese restaurant could be at one degree seperation, huh?