Posted on 04/18/2003 11:35:09 AM PDT by ex-Texan
Deadly SARS Spreads World-Wide: Death Rate Also Increases and Doctors Worry About Mutating Virus
This is more evidence that SARS may be much worse that World Health Officials are admitting. The New York Times is reporting today that the death rate in Toronto, Canada is 9.5% and the mystery disease is still spreading rapidly around the world. Now the disease has spread to 27 countries. I quote from that report:
* * * As of yesterday, 27 countries and Hong Kong have reported a total of 3,389 cases. The number of cases in the United States was sharply reduced yesterday, to 35, from 208, when federal health officials, as expected, adopted the World Health Organization's stricter definition of probable SARS cases.In other reports, medical scientists are openly worrying that China may have greatly understated the number of its cases. CNN is reporting today that China has been secretly moving many of its SARS cases into military hospitals.Worldwide, SARS is blamed for 165 deaths, for a death rate of 4.9 percent, the W.H.O. reported.
But for unknown reasons, the death rate in Canada is about double; 12 of the country's 126 cases have been fatal, a death rate of 9.5 percent. * * *
The Taiwan News has reported this morning that WHO officials are concerned that by doing so China may have hidden as many as 1,000 cases in military hospitals and intentionally understated the number of deaths reported. As many as 100 to 200 additional deaths from this mystery virus may have been hidden by Beijing. Quoting briefly from that report:
But there is more bad news emerging about this Chinese mystery virus. Doctors are beginning to fear the virus may be mutating into an even more deadly form as it spreads around the world. From a report in New Scientist any mutation in the virus is a genuine cause for even more concern.* * * "They (the WHO experts) also estimated there are between 100-200 probable cases in Beijing, more than has been reported, and they feel that there might even be up to 1,000 people who are under observation right now," Heymann told a briefing in Geneva, adding that many of those may not be SARS cases.
The illness has already spread to a number of provinces, cities and regions in the world's most populous nation and Heymann feared the disease could spread further in coming weeks as millions of Chinese take a week-long holiday in early May.
If health officials are correct about the potential number of unreported cases in China, and also about under-reported deaths from SARS, their real concern may be understated greatly. Assuming that China has understated its cases by only 50% of number mentioned by WHO: the total number of cases would have to adjusted upwards to 3,889. Then the number of deaths would have to be adjusted upward as well by 100 or 200 -- to possibly total of 265 or even to 365.
That would mean a rather dramatic increase in the death rate percentage from the old estimate of 4.9%, to a new estimated range of 6.8% to 9.3%.
How very strange ... Because the newly adjusted death rate is nearly identical to the rate in Canada today. But I do not want to engage in wild speculation. What I would like are some answers.
What I would like to know is why China is hiding SARS patients from WHO officials in its "secretive" military hospitals. Is their goal to protect the general population ? Or is their goal to confuse health officials and prevent them from learning the true cause of this dreaded disease?
(Excerpt) Read more at newspundit.net ...
There's been a slight improvement in masks since 1918. Back then they were made of cloth with pores large enough to let anything smaller than a fly through. The tuberculosis mask used today filters out most particles larger than 0.1 micron.
I meant to say it filters out particles smaller than 0.1 micron. This will cover viruses smaller than that because they travel on dust or droplets which are larger.
Good! I certainly hope so. I'm just saying that it is way too early to panic about this....
By TB mask, do you mean the kind they show people in China wearing?
That's a good guess. That's how the monkeys were infected with coronavirus at Erasmus University. They developed SARS.
I'm referring to the 3M N95 mask. Looking at the pictures of Asians wearing masks I suspect they are wearing surgical masks. They protect against most bacteria. The N95s are a bit more substantial and don't carry the creases of the typical surgical mask.
YOU haven't been paying attention then. Too bad - you've learned nothing (obviously) - LOGIC is all I use.
IF ALL you've got to go by are 'scare pieces' like as posted at the beginning of this thread THEN I can see why you'd say that.
I'M NOT going simply by these essential-detail lacking 'scare pieces' so I of course I have a different view *and* opinion fo the situation ...
BTW, know you're joking. Just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone reading decides they can run from this thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.