There are scores of SARS-like illnesses in Califoria alone, I found out in talking to Astraea Kelly for an hour, a 20 yr. respiratory therapist at a major hospital in Northern California. As you read this, several nationally known papers are working on this explosive story. I have a reporter friend looking into this unbelievable story. May break any day now. Astraea told me that she is ready to hold a press conference. She ask for public demand on certain health officials to take tougher & quicker actions before more innocent people get infected with SARS-like diseases & die. Here are the facts in digest form. It will fill pages.
1. In this one hospital where she worked, she has in her 8 hour shift witnessed at least 68 patients having SARS-like symptoms (high fever, coughing, pneumonia, diarrhea) in the last 4 weeks. There are 54 other respiratory therapists in this one hospital. Multiply that & do the math. This hospital has only reported 3 cases of probable SARS to the authority. If this is not cover-up or underreporting, then what is it? It is public information to ask Sacramento's public health department for the statistics of deaths in each hospital.
2. She know of 20 who have died in 4 weeks. There are no doubt many more in other 2 shifts. She knows of more. Some of the patients were Asian. They have not tracked who have visited these patients before they died. Where have medical staffs gone on vacation recently?
To this date, none of the dead had an autopsy done! Where is the coroner on this? There needs to be media & public pressure on them to get their act together. How many more must died before they will perform an autopsy!
3. The medical staffs have talked among themselves. They are worried about their safety & felt they were not protected enough by the hospital. Astraea is their pointman & sort of spokesman. She should be commended for her courage.
4. She has already reported this to CDC with no response yet! You would think CDC is on top of things after the outbreaks elsewhere. CDC in Atlanta need to adopt a stricter policy to isolate all patients with SARS-like symptoms whether they have traveled to high-risk area or not. We don't have a reliable test yet of SARS. She has jeopardized her job by having reported this to the Ca. liscensing board...Dr. Rosenburg and Dr. Derby, state infectious disease physicians, examined the hospital's charts from May 2 - May 6 and found 12 deathsin 4 days. They showed a pattern of concern. Two were of special concern and reviewed carefully.
5. As to the hospital's latest Public relations official response , "It's a rumor started by one individual..." Could it be if you can't destroy the message, then destroy the messanger? She thinks the hospital is scared to death about their liability, potential lawsuit, and loss of business...
6. This therapist is sick after caring for these patients. She has SARS-like symptoms.
In case you think, won't this cause a panic? It might. However, if the bureaucracy is dragging its feet & not telling the full information, jeapardizing the public, the patients that get transfered around to & from this hospital, then many more will die needlessly. Let us Weigh the pros & cons. Sometimes, officials WILL NOT ACT swiftly unless you put their feet to the fire. I have reason to believe this hospital is not alone in America. Did you read of 2 deaths in a Millbrae(Ca.) convalescent home this past week with similar symptoms, diarrhea, viral cases?
Have you ever wondered why SARS patients are dying in Asia, Toronto & none have died in America even though we have scores of "probable cases". Could it possibly be that a lot a REAL SARS cases have been categorized SARS-like or non-SARS to prevent panic perhaps or just being over-confident?
Food for thought. Talk about cover-up in China, i think human nature & government's response is universal.
Have we really learned from the painful lessons from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong. You cannot act too fast when it comes to a highly contagious disease.
The report indicates it is "SARS-like", but not SARS. So far in the US there have only been six patients with evidence of SARS coronavirus infections and only one of the six is in California (and that case was in Santa Cruz at couple of months ago and linked to the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong).