SARS virus threatens to become 21st century's first major disease

AFP/Yahoo ^ | April 13, 2003

[Dudoight]

What about a vaccine?

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[Asher]

"What about a vaccine?"

From what I understand, that's years away.

[firebrand]

We are saving lives here by putting people on respirators when their lungs start to fail, but presumably not every country has the resources for that.

[Dog Gone]

she admits that "rate depends entirely on the kind of treament that is available to people."

And that's the problem. Here in America we can handle hundreds or even thousands of SARS cases with a very low mortality rate.

But if a few million of us developed it, there wouldn't be enough ICU beds to handle the load.

[Cicero]

It this is what it seems to be, it could be a lot more serious than AIDS, to which this article compares it. AIDS is a voluntary disease in most cases.

Let's hope the public health authorities, who have done everything they can to ensure the spread of AIDS, do a better job with SARS.

[Asher]

"AIDS is a voluntary disease in most cases"

It's not voluntary for the the millions of women whose husbands have passed it to them, or the transfusion patients who have received tainted blood, or the babies who have been passed the disease in utero.

AIDS is coursing through African societies as effectively as the virus through the blood of its victims. It is decimating whole populations and blighting the lives of many millions. Those people may have a different culture to me and their skin may be black but I feel no less sorry for them for all that.

[aristeides]

That's why it's important that we try to isolate victims.

[riri]

That's why it's important that we try to isolate victims

We are either successful isolating the victims or our lives are forever changed. That much is obvious, at least to me.

[riri]

Or should I say our WAY of life.

[EternalHope]

At this point there is a good chance that it will get into the poor,crowded parts of the world: huge slum cities like Calcutta and Lima and Nairobi. If it does, it will kill millions.

Add Mexico City to the list. And then think about what panic in Mexico will mean to the U.S.

[backhoe]

Cross-link:

-SARS ( atypical pneumonia )- a partial archive --

[riri]

Latest SARS Victims Fitter and Younger

[jslade]

This Sars thing is a scam. Hell, last year some 37,000 people in the U. S. died from the flu. Interesting site...Click Here Sars Scam

[riri]

This Sars thing is a scam

Ummm, do you really think Hong Kong would destroy it's entire economy, shut down hospitals etc. based on a scam?

[riri]

Interesting link though.