SARS is much worse than is being reported

Personal American friends living in Hong Kong | CometBaby

[CometBaby]

My American friends living in Hong Kong called last night. The SARS in Hong Kong is much worse than has been reported. China has been fudging on the number of cases. He said that the number of new infections have been DOUBLING DAILY. It's spreading like wildfire. It's more contageous than has been admitted and there is no cure. The schools have all closed and many workplaces are not requiring employees to come in. They expect the Airport to CLOSE .. nobody knows exactly when, and people are scrambling to get out of the country before it does. The hospitals are all full and they plan to begin to quaranteen people in their homes.

He said that walking in Hong Kong is absolutely surreal .. everyone is wearing masks. And another thing .. they are running out of masks. It's really bad.

[Bluewave]

About Time. Guess we can go ahead and panic now and be among the first. Everyone else will be in a panic in about two weeks!

[k omalley]

From everything I have read it seems like there are those who have completely recovered, some who only had mild disease, some who recovered but are permanently disabled, like the doctor whose lung function was destroyed by the disease, and some who are still on vents or who are seriously ill. What I would like more information on is were there any factors which made some people more susceptible to becoming seriously ill or dying. Right now there doesn't seem to be any particular factors, at least any that have been reported. Some of the sickest people and those that have died were reportedly young and healthy.

[Dr.Deth]

Pro Athletes exposed to SARS?

[Rebelbase]

I just realized, Furniture Market starts this Thursday in my area....50,000 international buyers crammed into 4 square blocks and one small airport to serve them all.

[EternalHope]

Or are you saying that 3.7% of those diagnosed thus far have died?

The 3.7% is computed by dividing the total number of deaths by the total number of cases.

And you're right: It's a totally bogus way of computing the mortality rate for a new disease at such an early stage that the vast majority of the victims are still sick, with many in intensive care.

[larrysav]

Are you saying if one excludes those currently afflicted/infected by the disease, that 3.7% of those who caught SARS died and 96.3% recovered (albeit possibly impaired)? Or are you saying that 3.7% of those diagnosed thus far have died?

3.7% of those admitted to the hospital and formally diagnosed have died thus far. Some folks have recovered enough to be released. Most of those still in the hospital are reported to be feeling better.

As was said earlier, we don't really know what the mortality rate is as there are probably people in the population that are not seeking or requiring medical care for this.

Good data only exists for those in the hospital.

If you are looking for a good, level-headed source of information, I recommend the PROMED list.

http://www.fas.org/promed/index.html

[TaxRelief]

Not to jinx anyone, but no one in the US has died from this. We have excellent medical care and we (medical professionals) are actively studying the use of antivirals in the treatment of SARS.

Zook, take sanitizer, don't touch elevator buttons or door handles or machine buttons. Don't sit next to people who sound "mucous-y". You'll be fine. Lord protect those of us who must travel.

[riri]

Sounds like the advice of someone without small children.

[null and void]

When it starts getting to tens of thousands of dead I'll start getting concerned.

We'll ping you in six months.

[Eala]

Excellent reference! Thanks.

"Some patients recovering
To date, 19 SARS patients have been discharged from hospitals in Hong Kong, 17 from Viet Nam, and 25 from Singapore."

[goldstategop]

You have better odds of being struck by a bolt of lightning or being blown up by a homocide bomber or dying in an auto accident than falling a victim to SARS. It helps to keep it in perspective.

[unspun]

Whatever in world they happened to be called by whom, KEEP THE CHINESE OUT OF OUR AIRPORTS.

[unspun]

You have better odds of being struck by a bolt of lightning or being blown up by a homocide bomber or dying in an auto accident than falling a victim to SARS. It helps to keep it in perspective.

With all due apologies, that sounds very Cslifornian. Such is the case at the beginning stages of any epidemic.

[null and void]

You have better odds of being struck by a bolt of lightning or being blown up by a homocide bomber or dying in an auto accident than falling a victim to SARS. Right now...

[Lx]

I just read that the anti viral protocols were working. I think you've got to get it in them ASAP. What worries me is that the first born females in the worker's paradise of China that have managed to stay alive might not exactly get preferential treatment in this nightmare disease.

Good luck Zook and if G-d forbid you get symptoms, RUN to a doctor ASAP.

Oh yeah, one more thing, they were showing on the local Sacramento propaganda outlet that a Doctor (I think) had it and survived. Isn't that like getting a vaccination? In other words, could they use the anti-bodies (is that the right term) to create a vaccination from the survivors?

[Williams]

I'm wondering if "Asians" traditionally gave their region of the Earth that name OR is that a Westerm term for the region? If so, being called Asian should be just as pejorative. After all, you are lumping all "Asians" together by race, rather than calling them Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. Like saying "All your tellers are Caucasions or Blacks or Europeans." The word game is all nonsense.

The fact is that insecure groups will ALWAYS be offended by any name they feel is "given" to them. Best example is that "negro" or "colored" was once accepted. Then there was a demand "Say it aloud, I'm Black and I'm proud!" Then it was decided that black was pejorative, to be replaced by "African American." Now I wonder the origin of the word "Africa?"

One thing I can guarantee you, in 20 years the term "African American" will be considered pejorative, as whites are now using it more and more. My guess is the next stop will be just "African." Interestingly, "people of color" (acceptable) sounds awfully close to "colored" which is no longer acceptable. The problem is seeking an identity but not wanting to be labeled.

[Dr.Deth]

How about "Democrat"? Maybe in 20 years, that will be pejorative too :)

[plusone]

Thanks. An interesting site.

[NukeMan]

How would personal hygiene really matter if it's the flu? Clean people get the flu.

Poor hygiene more easily transmits the vector (via feces for example, or unwashed hands after being coughed upon). Also, the immune system would be under more stress and less able to resist the virus once infected.

[CometBaby]

What worries me is that the first born females might not exactly get preferential treatment

I don't think that orphans in a State run Orphanage would get any special treatment for SARS. In fact, if one of them had it, I suspect the whole orphanage would get it as they re-use needles. Now, in a PRIVATE Orphanage, where they baby was already sold or up for sale, the treatment would improve.

In other words, could they use the anti-bodies (is that the right term) to create a vaccination from the survivors?

They are making some progress; in fact, last Wednesday, they announced that they have identified exactly which virus we are dealing with. Once they start getting some surviver antibodies, they can begin to work on a vaccine. It's going to be a race to get a vaccine ready before the Fall flu season hits in the US.

My understanding, is that this has it's worst effect on the very young because their immune systems are not up to par yet, and the elderly, because their immune systems are failing. Of course there would be serious consequences for those who already have lung disorders, those with HIV, other immune affecting diseases .. and perhaps smokers would have a higher mortality rate.