[texson66]

For an update on case numbers: WHO SARS DATA

[Mother Abigail]

CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF REPORTED SUSPECT AND PROBABLE CASES

OF

SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME

FROM: 1 FEB 2003

TO: 17 MAR 2003

Country	Total number of case(s)	Number of deaths	Local transmission
Germany	1	0	None*
Canada	8	2	Yes
Singapore	20	0	Yes
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China	95	1 **	Yes
Switzerland	2	0	To be determined
Thailand	1	0	None*
Viet Nam	40	1	Yes
Total	167	4

Thank you,

Remember that the Hong Kong numbers are bogus - Follow freeper per loin - he is on the case big time. There is a major outbreak in Hong Kong and no one knows the true scope at this time. Do Not travel in the area.

[Mother Abigail]

By CHER JIMENEZ

TODAY Reporter

Another Filipino worker abroad, in addition to the five earlier reported in Singapore, is believed to have contracted the still mysterious but deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), described in a weekend worldwide advisory as a "global health threat."

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Merlita Luzon has been placed in isolation at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong since March 13 for observation.

Luzon fell sick after bringing food to a friend of her employer and was rushed to hospital three days after.

At the moment, all returning workers have to fill up a checklist that health authorities believe will enable them to monitor incidents -- incipient and full-blown -- of the SARS, the symptoms of which include severe coughing, high fever, sore throat, respiratory difficulty and body weakness.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 434 people in six countries, mostly in Asia, have been identified carrying the disease.

As a precaution, health units in the entire country have been mobilized to monitor possible cases.
Interior Secretary Joey Lina has instructed city and town mayors to assist the national government in its efforts to prevent the entry and spread of SARS, the cause of which remains unknown. It has not responded to antibiotics and retrovirals.

[Mother Abigail]

Mystery virus victim in Dublin hospital

A man suspected to be suffering from a mystery pneumonia virus is being treated in a Dublin hospital.

The Irish government's Department of Health and Children and the NDSC said the man being treated in Dublin recently returned on a flight from South East Asia.