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Among our many discussions, that lower mortality rate was extensively discussed...as I posted earlier, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 had a mortality rate of around 2.4% and 675,000 Americans died...at 4 or 5%, SARS had double the mortality of that epidemic, so we were very concerned before we knew the true figures.

You made an excellent point earlier, that no one in the US has died of SARS to date...our concern is hospital capacity for isolation, reverse airflow rooms (required in TB and SARS) and the number of ventilators available for the inevitable victims (some say around 20% of those with SARS) who will need them. Tommy Thompson, US health secretary, recently ordered 3000 additional vents for US hospitals, since even now, with ordinary capacity, 95-100% are in use during a NORMAL flu season.

Frankly, I don't think US hospitals are prepared.

To be honest, most hospitals in the US have been downsizing. I know of one local hospital that used to be rated for 452 beds that is now approaching capacity with 325 patients. Rooms have been converted into offices etc, with reverse airflow rooms not being used to the degree they used to be. I'm not even sure if the three they had are still opperable.

My region's health care facilities have been savaged by having to provide services with inadequate reimbursements. Now when the system is going to be needed, it's not going to be there to the degree it should be.

I agree that US hospitals are not prepared for even a mild and limited outbreak of SARS. I made some guesses a few weeks back that there are approximately 20,000 vacant intensive care beds available and not all of those beds have negative airflow systems.

There is also the fact that health care workers are among the first disabled by the disease and personnel shortages will be evident in an already stressed system.

I've been working on my own home health care plan and I think if I were really scared and serious, I would buy a home ventilator and an oxygen generator. I haven't done so because of the cost and my optimistic hope that the disease can be contained.

I hove toyed with a plan for self isolation if necessary and have the infection control products that I think might be needed to keep us from spreading the virus to others.

I do not expect the hospitals to do much once the disease spreads in the community.

We are seeing a 15% mortality rate with the best medicine has to offer. I wonder what the mortality rate will be for self care?