Posted on 04/16/2003 8:34:34 AM PDT by new cruelty
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that scientists have confirmed the identity of the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has killed more than 150 people around the world and sickened thousands of others. Scientists in the Netherlands infected monkeys with the coronavirus, which was suspected of causing SARS. They found the animals developed the same symptoms of the disease that humans do.
Scientists had been almost certain that a new form of the coronavirus was the cause of SARS. But they couldn't say for sure until more experiments were done.
Dr. David Heymann, executive director of the WHO's Communicable Diseases program, said the identification is the result of close international collaboration of 13 laboratories from 10 countries.
"The pace of SARS research has been astounding," Heymann said. "Because of an extraordinary collaboration among laboratories from countries around the world, we now know with certainty what causes SARS."
The successful identification of the coronavirus means that scientists can now turn to other SARS challenges. For example, various laboratories continue to work to unravel the genetic information of the SARS virus and compare the sequences from different parts of the world.
International experts are meeting this week to discuss the future of SARS research.
"Now we can move away from methods like isolation and quarantines and move aggressively toward modern intervention strategies including specific treatments and eventually vaccination," Heymann said. "With the establishment of the causative agent, we are a crucial step closer."
One scientist said there's no chance the virus was manmade. He said "nature has been the terrorist throwing up this virus."
Air Passengers Screened In Hong Kong
Health officials in Hong Kong will be screening all airline passengers for fevers before they are allowed to fly.
The measure is part of an effort to stem the spread of SARS. Starting Wednesday, all departing passengers will be screened, and the testing will expand to cover incoming passengers starting next week.
But Hong Kong officials are also trying to get life back to normal. Schools that have been closed for nearly three weeks as a precaution are starting to reopen.
One lawmaker criticized the government for not providing enough information about the disease to the public.
SARS deaths continue to rise in Hong Kong, but doctors say they have saved the baby of a pregnant woman who died of the mysterious virus.
The baby was delivered by Caesarean section April 1. The mother died on Monday -- one of nine deaths reported Tuesday in the country.
A newspaper in Hong Kong reports the father recovered from SARS and the family had lived in an apartment complex with some 300 cases of the flulike illness.
WHO experts say some people who got SARS early on could have passed the disease to many people before doctors realized that protective measures were needed.
Hundreds Quarantined In Toronto
This will be a solitary Easter for hundreds of Catholic faithful in Toronto. Many are not allowed to go to church.
Authorities have ordered an entire Catholic worship group -- 500 people -- to stay in their homes because they may have been infected with the SARS virus. The quarantine order affects 100 other people who may have worked with some of the church group members.
The disease may have touched the group through a man who was hospitalized in mid-March at one of the two Toronto hospitals that handled SARS cases. He died, but not before family members belonging to the group were exposed.
At the man's wake in early April, no one knew he was a SARS victim or that some relatives had symptoms of the illness.
The Archdiocese of Toronto has ordered its parishes to suspend delivering communion from the cup, kissing the crucifix on Good Friday or sharing the "salutation of peace" by shaking hands.
Church officials also urged Catholics displaying SARS symptoms such as fever, coughing or sneezing to stay home from Holy Week and Easter services.
In Toronto, 13 people have died of SARS and officials report 250 probable cases.
SARS Cases High In Beijing
A WHO official estimates the city of Beijing has 100 to 200 cases of the deadly SARS virus. That's far more than the 37 cases previously reported.
The health official based his figure on information gathered from health care workers and other sources, along with his own knowledge of the Chinese capital's health system.
Chinese officials have been accused of playing down the number of cases of the mystery illness that's spread around the world and failing to release other important data.
Earlier, world health experts said China has previously unreported cases of the SARS virus in military hospitals in Beijing and is barring the release of details.
Investigators who visited two military hospitals in the capital this week said they saw SARS patients there and got data on new cases. They said Chinese officials told them not to release other information.
As for the relationship with the paramyxovirus, I believe it was coincidental and the metapneumonia virus was a non-pathogenic saphrophytic strain.
Guess that would go along with the blood found in the lungs at autopsy?
Ah, thank you.
So as I understand it, the coronavirus causes SARS. But where did it originate?
The evidence strongly suggests that this is a virus which mutates, and is continuing to mutate today. Just a couple of days ago, they were stating that SARS is here to stay and that we needed to learn to deal with it. Personally, I don't know how they can say that if the thing keeps mutating.
Sure, it's possible that the virus will mutate into something even more deadly, but it might mutate back into something that doesn't affect us at all, like it was before.
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