Another E-mail titled SARS In Asia from the US Consulate in Beijing:
To American Citizens in the Beijing Consular District
This is one of an occasional series of messages from the U.S. Embassy's American Citizen Services unit to American Citizens registered with the U.S. Embassy in China.
SARS In Asia
This Public Announcement is being issued to alert Americans that the CDC has issued a travel advisory, and health alert notices, which are being distributed at ports
of entry to people returning from the three affected regions. CDC advises that people planning elective or nonessential travel to mainland China and Hong Kong;
Singapore; and Hanoi, Vietnam, may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. This Public Announcement expires on June 26, 2003.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are tracking SARS's origin and method of transmission as well as determining how its
spread can be contained. In light of the continually evolving nature of the geographic spread of SARS, American citizens should regularly consult the CDC website
http://www.cdc.gov/ and the WHO website
http://www.who.int/ for updates.
American citizens currently in or planning to travel to SARS-affected areas of Asia should consult the Department of State's Fact Sheet on SARS, Public Announcements, Travel Warnings, and Consular Information Sheets for China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam, all of which are available at the Consular Affairs Internet web site at
http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may also contact the Department of State toll-free at 1-888-407-4747, or if calling from overseas, 317-472-2328, for SARS information.
SARs status:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880332/posts Sars symptoms are a lot like those of the flu -- very high fever, shortness of breath and a dry cough. The disease is spread by close contact and antibiotics do not seem to work. The incubation period for the virus is said to be two to seven days. Some 80 to 90 per cent of infected people recover on their own, but there has been a 4 per cent casualty rate so far. SARS is poised to trigger a worldwide health emergency following reports of airborne transmission that has brought disease into the United States and Canada.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880329/posts "The longest possible incubation period that we've seen is 14 days," (WHO) spokesman Dick Thompson said March 30th in an interview from Geneva.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880380/posts The pattern of infection at the moment suggests that only those sitting next to or perhaps directly in front or behind an infected passenger is at risk. If whatever causes this disease is airborne then it becomes more likely that it could be transmitted through an aeroplane?s ventilation system. Currently SARS has a mortality rate of 4%. That is not that high, But WHO officials point out that the true mortality rate may be higher. The current figure is low in part as a result of the immense clinical effort that has gone in to providing supportive care for those who have fallen victim to the disease. One Hong Kong hospital has 150 patients with the disease, 30 of whom are being treated in intensive care. Many of these are on ventilators. The WHO says several would have died already without mechanical ventilation.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/879955/posts TORONTO (March 30, 2003) -- The Ontario government will use police if necessary to restrict access to Toronto hospitals as part of new measures announced yesterday to try to contain an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The WHO also announced yesterday that Dr. Carlo Urbani, who worked as a public health officer in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, had died of of the disease . Dr. Urbani was the first WHO officer to identify the outbreak of the illness, in a U.S. businessman who was hospitalized in Hanoi.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880264/posts The Canadian province of Ontario has 100 possible cases of the illness -- the highest caseload outside Asia.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880292/posts Hong Kong - Director of Health, Dr Margaret Chan, has ordered Block E of Amoy Garden in Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon Bay, to be isolated for a period of 10 days starting from 6 am this morning (March 31) to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (commonly known as atypical pneumonia), a Government spokesman said. The decision was taken because of the continued steep rise in the number of cases of infection in the building in the past few days.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/880264/posts?page=10#10 CDC (March 30, 2003) - Sars, which has affected some 1,600 people worldwide, appears to spread more easily than was first thought, according to the CDC.
Frequently Asked Questions About Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/62/71651.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic (CDC) Number of Suspected Cases Under Investigation in the United States
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/sars.htm (WHO) Number of Suspected Cases Under Investigaion throughout the World
http://www.who.int/csr/sarscountry/en/ (CDC) SARS Fact Site
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/ SARS Online - Information and Discussion
http://www.sarsonline.com/