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Documents show concerns about Ebola shipment from National Microbiology Lab, no relation to COVID-19 (according to the CBC) Newly-released access to information documents reveal details about a shipment of deadly pathogens last year from Canada's National Microbiology Lab to China — confirming for the first time who sent them, what exactly was shipped, and where it went. CBC News had already reported about the shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses but there's now confirmation one of the scientists escorted from the lab in Winnipeg amid an RCMP investigation last July was responsible for exporting the pathogens to the Wuhan Institute...

Two Canadian government scientists escorted from the National Microbiology Laboratory amidst an RCMP investigation and internal review have been let go from the Public Health Agency of Canada, CBC News has learned. "The two scientists are no longer employed by the Public Health Agency of Canada as of Jan. 20, 2021," Eric Morrissette, chief of media relations for Health Canada and PHAC, confirmed in an email late Friday. "We cannot disclose additional information, nor comment further, for reasons of confidentiality." Sources say members of the lab's special pathogens unit were called to a meeting on Thursday and told that Dr....

U.S. Warns Citizens in Vietnam Because of SARS Sun March 23, 2003 09:55 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department on Sunday urged U.S. citizens to consider leaving Vietnam because of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a deadly form of pneumonia, and said it was offering free flights out to family members of U.S. diplomats in the country. The move follows the U.S. government's decision on Friday to suspend official travel to Vietnam and to advise U.S. citizens to put off non-emergency travel there because of the disease and the reduced availability of medical treatment. "The Department of State...

<p>We know what it is it. It is the SARS virus. But, to which virus family it belongs, we don't know yet," he added.</p> <p>Some researchers believe it is a new type of paramyxovirus, but studies from other labs suggest it may belong to another virus family.</p>

Killer virus identified A team from the Prince of Wales Hospital and Chinese University of Hong Kong have identified the virus that has caused the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome worldwide, confirming that the current anti-viral treatment applied to patients has been the right choice. Identifying the virus as a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, Professor John Tam of the department of microbiology of the Chinese University said it was detected by electron microscopy. The finding, announced late last night, was further confirmed by a molecular technique that revealed the nucleic acid sequence of the virus. Asked if...

Guangdong doctor linked to SARS outbreak International effort reveals links between SARS outbreak and Chinese pneumonia, and possible agent. | By Robert Walgate Margaret Chan, Health Director of Hong Kong, said today that the source of the current international outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) seems to be a doctor from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, the southernmost region of China, which saw 300 cases of a mystery pneumonia between November 2002 and February 2003. Chan's comments are reported in the Hong Kong Standard. China only recently agreed to cooperate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US...

Paramyxovirus-like particles identified by electron microscopy Numerous tests have been performed on the 3 patients admitted on Saturday 15 March to the Isolation Unit at Frankfurt am Main with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Tests from respiratory specimens for influenza A and B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, enteroviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. by antigen enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were all negative; antibody tests for dengue, influenza A and B, measles, hantaviruses, _Mycoplasma pneumoniae_ and _Chlamydia_ spp. were likewise negative or unremarkable so far; further test results are pending. Particles morphologically resembling paramyxoviruses...

Toronto — Just two weeks ago, Toronto health officials were so convinced they had beaten SARS into submission that they dismantled key elements of their containment team while lead members took off on international tours to describe how the city defeated the disease. Ontario commissioner of public security James Young, Toronto associate medical officer of health Bonnie Henry and two other medical experts flew to the SARS-embattled regions of Hong Kong, Beijing and Taipei to share the Toronto experience. Mount Sinai Hospital's chief microbiologist, Donald Low, jetted off to give weekend lectures in Glasgow, New York and Washington, as Andrew...

The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that scientists have confirmed the identity of the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has killed more than 150 people around the world and sickened thousands of others. Scientists in the Netherlands infected monkeys with the coronavirus, which was suspected of causing SARS. They found the animals developed the same symptoms of the disease that humans do. Scientists had been almost certain that a new form of the coronavirus was the cause of SARS. But they couldn't say for sure until more experiments were done. Dr. David Heymann, executive director of the...

Medical Experts Speak Out -- SARS Virus Could Be Man-Made and Possibly a Bio-Weapon This was the breaking news late yesterday. News 24 was reporting that top Russian medical experts were lining up to express concern about the virus. A brief excerpt: Nikolai Filatov, head of Moscow's epidemiological services, told the Gazeta daily that he thought the pneumonia was man-made because "there is no vaccine for this virus, its make-up is unclear, it has not been very widespread and the population is not immune to it." * * * The virus, according to academy of medecine member Sergei Kolesnikov, is...

Two cases of SARS have hit San Francisco. One is at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center and the other is at Kaiser in San Francisco. There are some who are voicing concern in San Francisco because many of its residents have weakened immune systems due to various diseases. At this time, there is not a cure, a shot, a magic bullet, or a cocktail. Your body has to fight it off. Perhaps it is not time to panic and I have no reason to believe it is widespread, but I have reports that some in SF do...

21 March 2003 2046 hrs (SST) 1246 hrs (GMT) 32 more victims infected with SARS in Hong Kong  By Amy Or The Hong Kong government says it has contained the atypical pneumonia virus in the territory, but 32 more people have fallen victim to the deadly virus. The suspension of accident and emergency services at the Prince of Wales Hospital continues for another week. The decision came after eight more healthcare personnel there fell sick with atypical pneumonia. This brings the total number struck by the virus to 197. "We've contained the spread among primary contacts, trying to contain secondary...

New kids' respiratory virus June 3, 2003 Infectious disease researchers have isolated a new respiratory virus in children. But unlike the other respiratory virus making news - Sars, or severe acute respiratory syndrome - this virus appears to have been around for years. Dubbed human metapneumovirus (hMPV), the virus was first discovered two years ago in the Netherlands. Since then, it has been found in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and now, the United States. According to Dr Steven Korsman, a virologist from the University of Stellenbosch's Virology Department, no cases of this new virus have been documented in South...

It's time I went to my favorite shopping district, Manhattan's Chinatown, and picked up some "donta" (Chinese egg custard), fresh seafood, and roast duck for my family. But going there could potentially kill us all. Since I don't live in China, Hanoi, Toronto or Singapore, I may sound paranoid. And yet, I'll take that chance. The majority of Chinatown's inhabitants hail from China's Guangdong Province, which is Ground Zero for "SARS" – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, often erroneously described as "pneumonia" or "atypical pneumonia." Illegal Chinese immigrants constantly arrive in Chinatown, largely from Guangdong Province. People also constantly travel...

HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A mystery disease spread new fears across Asia on Monday as Singapore quarantined hundreds of people, and Hong Kong and Vietnam reported more deaths amid closed schools and growing fear. At the same time, scientists in Geneva and the United States said they believe the cause of the flu-like ailment that has stymied them for weeks could be one of the viruses that causes the common cold. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that evidence is mounting the cause is a coronavirus, a bug that can...

<p>As many as five people have died in Hong Kong from a mystery virus authorities now believe has mutated from a common childhood disease.</p> <p>While they would not identify the disease, they say the deadly respiratory illness sweeping through Asia and the world comes from a class of viruses known as paramyxovirus.</p>

A BUG linked to the virus that killed a Brisbane horse trainer in 1994 has emerged as a likely cause of the mysterious pneumonia-like illness that has claimed eleven lives around the world. Specialists in Hong Kong and Germany claimed to have identified paramyxovirus in two patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as the international death toll climbed to eleven. Paramyxovirus belongs to a family of viruses that can infect animals and humans and cause a range of illnesses including measles, mumps and childhood croup, as well as distemper in dogs. However, the World Health Organisation and local...