CHINA CONFIRMS CASES AND DEATHS (SARS) - HONG KONG SITUATION DETERIORATING - 22 CASES IN US

Washington Post ^ | 03-22-03

[Mother Abigail]

Mysterious Illness Kills 2 In Beijing in Sign of Spread

Saturday, March 22, 2003; Page A03

BEIJING, March 21 -- Chinese doctors today reported two deaths in Beijing and 20 people stricken in Shanghai by a disease with symptoms similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The doctors' statements cast doubt on Chinese government pronouncements that the spread of the disease, also known as SARS, had been limited to Guangdong province, in southern China, where it is believed to have originated. State-controlled media have been banned from reporting about the disease since mid-February.

Full Article

[Mother Abigail]

Hong Kong SARS cases rose by 19 to 222 on Saturday

SARS claims another victim but progress reported in identifying virus

Sat Mar 22, 7:53 AM ET

HONG KONG (AFP) - A seventh person suffering from a mysterious respiratory disease has died in Hong Kong, taking the global death toll to 11, as health officials reported making progress in identifying the deadly virus.

 Hong Kong health officials said Saturday that the latest death involved a man in his 70s who contracted Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). He had also been suffering from a blood disease.

The number of patients in the territory diagnosed with SARS rose by 19 to 222 on Saturday, Hospital Authority spokesman Ko Wing-man said.

[Mother Abigail]

Argentina Checks Woman for Deadly Pneumonia

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters)

- A 36-year-old Argentine woman was rushed to hospital off a flight from Rome on Friday after showing symptoms of what could be a mysterious deadly pneumonia spreading fear across the world, officials said

[tallhappy]

There's been a lot of conflicting info from China. Here is one example. A Hong Kong patient was reported to have the "bird flu" virus. China said it was Chlamydia.

Copyright 2003 South China Morning Post Ltd.  
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
February 20, 2003
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 2

LENGTH: 369 words

HEADLINE: We have no cases, say Fujian and Guangzhou

BYLINE: Leu Siew-ying in Guangzhou

BODY:
No bird flu cases exist in Fujian province or in Guangzhou, officials in both places insisted yesterday.

Hu Shaoming, deputy chief of Guangzhou Health Bureau's administrative department, said the mystery flu which had swept through Guangdong in late January and early this month had nothing to do with the deadly avian flu virus.

"We do not have a single case of bird flu in Guangzhou," Mr Hu said. He said his bureau had not heard about the latest case in Hong Kong.

Last night, an official at the reception office of the Fujian provincial government said that it had not received any reports of an outbreak of bird flu in the province.

The official also said he was not aware of the case reported by the Hong Kong government yesterday.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing said on Tuesday that experts had found the chlamydia bacteria in two specimens taken from the lungs of two patients who died in the mystery flu outbreak in Guangdong.

The disease, which has been labelled atypical pneumonia, has killed at least five people, including a 10-year-old boy, and infected 305. In Guangzhou, Mr Hu said 94 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospitals up to last Monday.

Xu Jun, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said yesterday the new discovery gave doctors a lead in treating the disease, but it was too early to draw any conclusion on the cause of the illness.

"The Beijing findings are based on two autopsies. More tests need to be done," Professor Xu said.

He said the antibiotic erythromycin had proved successful in treating chlamydia pneumonia and had been used to treat some of the cases of atypical pneumonia in Guangdong, but the effect of the drug was unclear in all cases.

Chlamydia pneumonia can also be so mild that patients sometimes do not know they are ill, Professor Xu said.

State media yesterday quoted other experts in Guangdong as saying the illness in the province could not be chlamydia pneumonia as this was a more contagious disease and has a low fatality rate.

They said there was probably more than one cause of the illness.

Additional reporting by Fong Tak-ho

LOAD-DATE: February 20, 2003

[Mother Abigail]

Meanwhile, Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said Saturday there was no proof that severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, spread from the mainland to Hong Kong, despite widespread suspicions of a link.

[CathyRyan]

Where do we stand with this? Primary cases are coming out of China/HK and we are not seeing many secondary cases? So if we keep on top of the primany cases coming out of HK/China the US should be OK? Right? Help me out here. I am at the pendulum swing point where this may not be as bad as I feared. (next post I maybe really, really, really worried ;))

[CathyRyan]

Meanwhile, Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said Saturday there was no proof that severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, spread from the mainland to Hong Kong, despite widespread suspicions of a link.

This guy sounds like he lives on a houseboat in the middle of a river in Egypt. imo

[cherry]

me too, please ( add to list)

[Mother Abigail]

Yes,

Our aggressive screening, isolation, and barrier nursing response has limited secondary infections.

And that is good news

[CathyRyan]

Thank you! I hate the not knowing.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

" 36-year-old Argentine woman was rushed to hospital off a flight from Rome "

Seems a lot of people are being rushed to hospitals after getting off airplanes...

[IncPen]

Apparently, the liberal public health system is more interested in figuring out how to write grants for anti-tobacco campaigns. (really!)

That is the type of attitude that will be the doom of us if/when there's a bio attack...

[angry beaver norbert]

Love that tag line,fellow freeper!LMAO!

[Mother Abigail]

Yes it does.

[Mother Abigail]

Done

[Domestic Church]

"This disease was first reported in China last fall."

Chinese poulation control?

[angry beaver norbert]

Does anyone suspect a commie bio-test??

[Mother Abigail]

As of now,

Possible new virus of a common strain found in animals

Made species Jump in South China

Outbreak in China

Dr who helps in Chinese outbreak arrives in Hong Kong sick

Spreads the virus to others on his floor in the hotel

Dr checks into the hospital, dies

Spreads virus to hospial staff

Secondary cases from the doctor in the hotel carry the virus worldwide

Large reservoir of virus in Hong Kong infecting travelers and locals

Locals spread virus to children in Hong Kong

Secondary cases distribute the virus worldwide...

IMHO

[Domestic Church]

" a flight from Rome"

Any mention of quarantine?

[Mother Abigail]

P.S.

There is a second opinion that it is a new strain of a children's virus (very common) but of the same family of viruses that I spoke of above.

We'll have to see...

[stlnative]

Please add me to your ping list on the SARS...

I have a mother here in the USA, that has had to work around many Chinese as they are moving the company over to China (yes there goes more american jobs and my Mother will be without a job)

Anyhow her american boss is in China right now he was sent over just days before the SARS story broke and is due to return soon and the company keeps sending Chinese people over here to learn the work processes before they take all of it over to China. So I worry about her being possibly exposed, I know the chances are probably slim... but just in case I want to stay up to date with it.