Possible SARS case in Ottawa hospital

CBC ^

[I'll be your Huckleberry]

OTTAWA - A health-care worker is under observation at the Ottawa Hospital for possibe exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This staff member works in the emergency department at the hospital's General campus.

INDEPTH: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome The hospital's chief of staff, Dr. Chris Carruthers, is concerned the worker might have been exposed to an undiagnosed case, a suspected SARS patient who had been at the emergency department 15 days ago. That same patient was later identified as a possible SARS case in Toronto.

When the Ottawa Hospital found that out yesterday, Dr. Carruthers says inquiries were made among emergency staff at the General campus.

Doctor Carruthers says anyone who visited the emergency department of the hospital, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, or from 7 p.m. last Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday, should contact health authorities. If feeling sick, she or he should not go to work or school, but call the health department immediately at 724-4222.

[jacquej]

lol, just found it, and thought it was new... must be wearing out the brain cells!

Well, how about this excerpt? Has it been posted? If so, I'll go watch TV, or something equally pointless...


Hong Kong Researchers Present New Clues on SARS

Sydney Chung, the dean of medicine at CUHK, says so-called "invisible SARS patients" pose the risk.

Such patients, says Dr. Chung, do not display typical SARS symptoms like fever and a dry cough. They are therefore not isolated and often admitted to the hospital for other conditions.

He also says asymptomatic SARS patients have recently infected hospital staff in non-SARS wards.

He says medical staff in SARS wards are continuing to be vigilant and that transmission in those wards is going down. At least four Hong Kong hospital workers have died of SARS while almost 400 have been infected.

Asymptomatic transmission of SARS has already been documented in Hong Kong. Scientists studying the Amoy Gardens high rise outbreak found that people living in the same household could catch SARS from each other even if they were not showing symptoms of disease.


http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=F04720B7-1B7D-4852-8BA3AA668E58B2FE

[Dog Gone]

Because the Canadian woman was showing signs of the virus, it is likely that she was not especially infectious, the department said.

I'll vote for that one.

[aristeides]

No harm in duplicating. People may have missed the story the first time.

[aristeides]

This story describes well how work habits and life will change here in the U.S. if SARS hits.

[aristeides]

SARS virus can live for 3 days on plastic.

[aristeides]

Here's a later report on that Shippensburg, PA alert: SARS-Infected Woman Visits Shippensburg Clinic: State Health Officials Issue Warning.

[aristeides]

Canada minister: Latest SARS cluster disturbing for health workers. Canadian Health Minister visited CDC in Atlanta today.

[jacquej]

Dog Gone, you are one sharp pup! You found the boner!

[Prince Charles]

The SARS virus can survive for as long as three days on plastered walls, glass, plastic and other surfaces, Hong Kong researchers said on Friday. The findings, in a study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, are based on samples taken from a hospital with SARS patients.

Very interesting.

[Bluewave]

I'll vote for this sentence- "Richard McGarvey, Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesperson, declined to name the clinic where the person saw a doctor, citing confidentiality concerns. He said the clinic has been notified."

None of the people exposed to the disease have a right to know they were exposed. Absolutely crazy and a guarantee that a massive wide spread outbreak is coming our way!

[Judith Anne]

Bump to myself...

[jacquej]

You are a whole lot sharper than all the rest of us!!!!!

You are right on, and that one slipped right by my beady little eyes!

Good for you!

[jacquej]

found this just now...

...."The Toronto woman was in the Shippensburg area earlier this month on her way home from a gathering in the Virginia/West Virginia area. She and a companion spent the night at an area hotel May 18, said Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the state Department of Health. "...


What hotel in the Shippensberg area? What gathering in the Virginia/West Virginia area? Was she was there for a graduation, so which college? Where did she eat? What bathrooms did she use? Do people all over the country have to add Shippensburg to the list of localities to ask people about when they present with symptoms, or else they aren't "categorizable" as SARS???

So many questions, so little knowledge? Well, it was ten days ago, so we should know pretty soon if anyone caught the "flu" from her, right?


http://pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1054373686295670.xml

[Bluewave]

Thank you, but it is not being smarter that made that sentence stand out to me. For many years, I have been absolutely dumbfounded by the HIV secrecy. The only way to treat a contagious disease is with full knowledge of how it is transmitted and the source of infection.

We created a nightmare for health professionals with the secret HIV infection model. The individual's right to privacy has superceded the public's right to know.

The idea of treating everyone as if they are infectious has great political appeal for affected groups and carriers, but it does little to facilitate control and eradication of the disease.

The new HIPAA laws have strengthened the veil of privacy in such a way as to make it difficult for even health practitioners to obtain needed information.

The bureaucracy is in place, the lawyers are on their roosts, and the medical profession has battened down the hatches. The stage is set for SARS or some other deadly disease to quietly sweep the country.

[jacquej]

I agree with you completely. Following the tortured circular rules in this Q and A session with an Arkansas health official about a "probable" case there...


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/920760/posts

[Concentrate]

Possible now means definite, as no city wants to deter tourists from visiting.

[aristeides]

PC kills. Maybe SARS will teach people that.

[Concentrate]

No harm in duplicating. People may have missed the story the first time.

In fact, once the rest of FR catches wind of this threat, the need for repetition will only grow.