Killer-flu a 'white terror': Expert, "It is the worst medical disaster I have ever seen."

Herald Sun ^ | 03-27-03

[Mother Abigail]

Killer-flu a 'white terror': Expert

By Catherine Armitage, Leigh Dayton

The Prince of Wales Hospital, where Dr Chung treats SARS patients, has had 69 medical staff struck down by the illness.

"I feel terrible seeing my colleagues struck down one after another," Dr Chung said. He said one doctor's lung function was "totally destroyed", highlighting the stress such cases cause among professionals.

China admitted yesterday that the number of mainland deaths was almost five times the number previously acknowledged and infections were double the number revealed by officials until now.

Guangdong officials point to news reports that said 24 people had died and 680 had been infected in that city by the end of February. SARS is poorly understood and scientists have yet to nail down its cause.

Chairman of the Communicable Disease Network of Australia David Smith said it was not unlike the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

As with HIV-AIDS, medical and health professionals were struggling to pin down the infectious organism and must work with "very broad" definitions of the symptoms, Associate Professor Smith said.

Once experts identified the pathogen, along with its origin and behaviour, they would be better able to treat SARS and prevent its spread.

But progress is being made. Experts now know masks, gowns and protective clothing limits the disease's spread.

A World Health Organisation team has arrived in Beijing to help scientists with laboratory work and review evidence linking the Guangdong and Hong Kong outbreaks.

Australia's WHO team leader John Mackenzie, of the University of Queensland, said his Chinese colleagues had provided "very good data" on the Guangdong outbreak between November and February, but there was a "long way to go".

In Australia, three people are under investigation, but so far no cases have been confirmed.

[Mother Abigail]

---

A CHRONOLOGICAL COMPILATION OF THE "SARS" OUTBREAK AS REPORTED ON FREE REPUBLIC

---

1. Precognition

2. Hong Kong Health Secretary calls for calm as SARS cases double, (83 up from 42 on Sunday)

3. LATEST SARS UPDATE - DETAILED MEDICAL INFORMATION

4. BREAKING BIG: POSSIBLE PATHOGEN DETECTED IN SARS CASE

5. Killer Virus (SARS) Identified

6. Seven victims of mystery pneumonia stayed on same floor of Hong Kong hotel

7. Guangdong doctor linked to SARS outbreak

8. President of the American Society of Microbiology on SARS - "Everything says it is airborne."

9. CDC increases SARS cases to 22 in U.S.

10. CHINA CONFIRMS CASES AND DEATHS (SARS) - HONG KONG SITUATION DETERIORATING - 22 CASES IN US

11. Causative agent of SARS virus isolated from lung tissue - test is reliably identifying cases

12. VIETNAM NEW SARS HOT ZONE, U.S. Warns Citizens in Vietnam To leave

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

14. Singapore - 740 people quarantined, 14 new cases on Monday, Hospitals close, SARS spreads

15. 37 In United States May Have SARS

16. SARS epidemic spreads in Taiwan, three other CDC officials have become ill.

17. WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF SARS? ONE VIRUS, TWO VIRUSES WORKING IN CONCERT, OR A DETERMINANT UNKNOWN.

  

[Judith Anne]

Thank you. I appreciate your help.

[CathyRyan]

Thank you for all the time you have put in on these threads. Not just anybody would.

[Saundra Duffy]

Yikes!

[I'll be your Huckleberry]

"Wrong. DU's disrupt because they despise us, others disrupt because things are too sensationalized, and full of eroneous informational analyses."



This is Mrs Huckleberry, and I think the word you want is erroneous. But even a genius can make a spelling error,

OK - so genius, you have bitched and moaned all day without contributing one bit of information or analysis:

"things are too sensationalized,"

Are you suggesting that the information from the world press posted here is fraudulent?

Or are you suggesting that this information should not be posted because it is "too sensational"

"full of eroneous informational analysis."

Will you please explain which bit of analysis you find in error? And give us the grace to hear your correct and insightful analysis?

I suspect you have no idea what you are talking about and are just blowing out your bowels, but here is your big chance.

Show us what you got,

[Mother Abigail]

You are quite welcome

You have done your share as well

[Mother Abigail]

Authorities looking for 55
By WONG SAI WAN AND SUSAN TAM
HONG KONG: Fifty-five Malaysians are among 2,000 people being traced by health authorities worldwide after it was discovered they had stayed at Metropole Hotel in Mongkok, located in Waterloo Road Kowloon, where the atypical pneumonia outbreak is believed to have originated. 

The guests had been in the hotel from Feb 18 to March 3 – a period in which officials believed they were exposed to the killer virus. 
Malaysian consul-general Abdul Aziz Harun confirmed receiving the list of Malaysians from the Department of Health here and that it had been forwarded to the Health Ministry.  

"More critical is the search for three Malaysians who stayed on the 9th floor of the hotel which was ground zero for the outbreak here," Aziz said in an interview.

[John Locke]

The causative agent has been tentatively identified as one of these four:

[WFTR]

I haven't dreamed about you, so it can't be too bad.

WFTR
Bill

[Mother Abigail]

You come and see me child

[Mother Abigail]

LOL

[Mother Abigail]

New Thread

[Brian S]

To expand on the "Chronological Compilation" you may want to run a search on "pneumonia" and "flu-like". Several articles have been posted before it was named SARS.

[Mother Abigail]

Thank you,

You are the second person to mention that fact.

I will try to find the time and make the addition...

[Brian S]

Nice list, btw!

[TaxRelief]

Technically, if the increase is from 0, then the increase is infinite%.

[per loin]

Of course, but the reason for calculating from November is the appearance of the first case then.

[GOPJ]

Thanks

Is this an antibiotic resistant pneumonia spliced to a common cold virus? A good question?!

[aruanan]

'white terror': isn't that the chinese nickname for caucasians?

No. It's more like "white ghost".

[maestro]

'white terror': isn't that the chinese nickname for caucasians?

No. It's more like "white ghost".

......'blonds have more fun.'

;-)