Here's another supposed "Threat to life."
Mar. 18, 2003. 05:17 AM
AP Photo
Travellers wear masks in an attempt to ward off pneumonia at Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, capital of China's Guangdong province, March 17, 2003.
SARS FACTS
Some facts about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a potentially fatal pneumonia-induced illness:
Cause: To date, microbiologists have been unable to isolate the pathogen behind SARS. They believe it is viral, but aren't 100 per cent sure. They admit it could be a brand new disease.
What's ruled out: Experts say this doesn't look like a bioterrorism agent. Increasingly they are ruling out the possibility that this is a new and deadly strain of influenza as well.
Symptoms: Sudden onset of high fever (over 38.5 C) accompanied by muscle aches and one or more of these respiratory symptoms - cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
Treatment: Heavy doses of antibiotics and anti-viral agents.
Canadian cases: Eleven probable and suspected cases, as of Monday. Two deaths in Toronto suburb of Scarborough.
Hot spots: From late November through mid-February, 305 sickened and five dead in southern China's Guangdong province. The current outbreak emanates from Hong Kong, where there have been 83 confirmed cases. More than 30 cases in Hanoi.
At risk: Those who have spent time with anyone affected by the disease, or who spent time in an affected region.
Advice for travellers: In areas where the illness is found, practise good personal hygiene, especially hand-washing. Until further information is available, as a precautionary measure, Canadian travellers may want to avoid crowded, enclosed areas in Hanoi, Vietnam; and in Hong Kong and Guangdong province, China. If you fall ill with listed symptoms, seek medical help.
- Canadian Press
RELATED LINKS
> Disease may have spread in hospital (Mar. 18)
> Deadly pneumonia spreads (Mar. 18)
> New case concerns Pearson workers (Mar. 18)
> Deadly illness in York: Officials (Mar. 17)
> Mysterious illness kills two in GTA (Mar. 15)
> World Health Organization warning
> Health Canada: Public Health
> CDC: SARS warnings
Mystery disease may have spread in hospital
Officials fear bug passed from patient
TANYA TALAGA AND KAREN PALMER
STAFF REPORTERS
Public health officials are investigating one new case of atypical pneumonia in a Scarborough hospital patient, who may have contracted the disease from a sickly patient in the next bed.
Meanwhile, scientists around the world are scrambling to identify the mysterious pathogen that has infected at least 11 Canadians.
The newest Toronto case has been isolated at Scarborough Grace hospital. The patient, who was not identified, is thought to have contracted the respiratory disease on March 7 while receiving care at the hospital's emergency department.
A 27-year-old woman in Edmonton is the latest suspected victim of the pathogen. She returned to Alberta Saturday from Hong Kong.
Fifteen full-time staff members at the Toronto public health unit have contacted at least 200 people who may have come in contact with "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome" patients. That includes people who attended the funeral for two who died and patients of a doctor who treated some of the first Canadian cases of the disease, said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, associate medical officer of health for Toronto.
Once they have been contacted, the unit informs them they may have been exposed, explains the signs and symptoms, and helps them get a referral to hospital if needed. If no one has had any symptoms in 10 days, then they don't have to worry, Yaffe said.
Health authorities have yet to contact passengers who may have been exposed to the respiratory disease on flights returning from Hong Kong on Feb. 23 and March 12. Health Canada didn't ask for the passenger manifests until March 13 and has had problems compiling lists of hometowns of all the passengers.
"(The passenger lists) are in a very dense code," said Dr. Howard Njoo, director-general of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control in Ottawa. "They have to be translated. To actually go through (the manifests) and tease out the information so that we can package them into appropriate piles to then pass on to the individual provinces and territories, that's going to take a bit of time."
While passenger lists are often deciphered and released within hours of plane crashes, in this case the airlines are simply co-operating with Health Canada, an industry insider said.
"In terms of who takes the lead, it's Health Canada," Air Canada spokesperson Laura Cooke said last night. "We are required to co-operate with the investigation, but any details in terms of contacting people (on board that flight), it's up to Health Canada."
The epidemic, which is spreading around the world, was confirmed in Toronto on March 5, when Sui-chu Kwan died at her Scarborough home after returning from a 10-day trip to Hong Kong.
Her 44-year-old son, Chi Kwai Tse, died at Scarborough Grace hospital last week of the disease, which starts with fever, coughing and trouble breathing.
Her daughter, who travelled to Atlanta on March 3 and fell sick in the American city, was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital on March 12 with symptoms. Sui-chu Kwan's daughter-in-law was also admitted to Mount Sinai March 12. Kwan's other son was placed in intensive care at Sunnybrook hospital the next day. Kwan's husband is also sick.
Kwan's family doctor, who saw two of the family members for 45 minutes on March 6, developed symptoms on March 9, such as a high fever of 40 degrees Celsius. She is in stable condition at Mount Sinai.
They all seem to be responding well to treatment, said Njoo. At least one of Kwan's children still needs help to breathe.
"At this point, they were all treated with standard supportive medical care, so based on their own immune capacities and the care they're receiving, they're doing quite well," he said.
A 67-year-old man from York Region, who returned from Hong Kong on March 12, is still breathing through an oxygen mask at Sunnybrook hospital.
Information on the ill family, the doctor and the case of the York Region traveller has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said Dr. Don Low, chief of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital.
"It's sort of the first clinical description they've gotten of the cases, possible transmission and how these cases present," he said.
British Columbia is also reporting a suspected case of the disease in a patient who recently travelled to Hong Kong.
So far, none of the Canadian cases have been confirmed in the usual medical sense, said Low.
"We can't confirm anybody until we know what we are dealing with," he said.
All but two of the Toronto area cases are being considered "probable," which means they have a fever over 38 C, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, a travel history to Asia or close contact with someone who has recently returned from Asia, and severe progressive respiratory illness.
At least 1,200 people have called a Toronto public health hotline set up to answer questions about the syndrome.
Hospitals have cranked up protective measures for staff who might care for atypical pneumonia patients, Low said. Three patients are isolated in negative air pressure rooms, which helps stop the spread of the disease through the air.
Although public health officials are downplaying the risk of person-to-person transmission, the latest twist in the disease's spread, between patients, has forced hospitals to take extra precautions.
Isolation beds have been added to the list at "Criticall," the real-time computer system that reports hospital bed availability to ambulance dispatchers.
Hospital staff are wearing gowns and special masks that prevent microscopic pathogens from passing through the material.
"Nobody comes in contact with (the patients) unless they are wearing the proper masks, gowns and gloves," Low said.
Since mid-afternoon on Saturday, technologists at the federal microbiology laboratory in Winnipeg have donned protective gear to work in Bio-Safety Level 3 and 4 labs with blood samples and nasal swabs taken from people thought to be sickened by the ailment.
So far they've run more than 300 tests but haven't yet identified the bug that's making people sick.
"We think it's a virus because if it were a bacteria, we probably would have identified it by now. But all possibilities remain open," said lab director Frank Plummer. It's important to separate whether it's a virus or a bacterium, since antibiotics work only on bacteria and anti-virals fight only viruses.
The work at the Winnipeg lab is part of a global effort to put a name to the deadly respiratory illness.
So far, the illness has stumped scientists in 11 laboratories spread across 10 countries, including China, Canada and the U.S
They've ruled out a few illnesses that cause similar symptoms, including the flu.
"We've done extensive testing for influenza A, B and C in Hong Kong, Canada and in the U.S. All the tests are negative, so we're pretty sure it's not flu," Plummer said.
Technologists have tried without success to grow a copy of the unknown infectious agent, using colonies of the bacteria or virus harvested from submitted samples. "It hasn't kept me up at night worrying, but it's keeping me up working on it," Plummer said.
He stressed there seems to be no reason to panic.
"The fact that this seems to require close personal contact suggests it will be quite easy to control," he said.
At this point there is no evidence of transmission in the general public and no reason to think there would be transmission in the general public, Ottawa's Njoo said. "We're taking this seriously and we're instituting all measures to isolate and contain the illness," he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is currently investigating a potential case that surfaced on a cruise ship. Although the World Health Organization has issued a travel warning, Health Canada is urging Canadians to check with their doctors before heading to Asia, which is thought to be the epi-centre of the outbreak.
"The only risk factors we're aware of right now is travel to Asia and close contact to another case, either a member of your family or caring for a person with this illness," Plummer said.
"The kind of things we can tell people is to take care with hygiene and wash your hands, those kinds of things," Njoo added. "Based on the fact that our population is very mobile, it's very important the world works together to deal with this global threat," he said.
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With files from Diana Zlomislic
Toronto Star Website
Edited by XxDoubleHelixX, 29 May 2003 - 11:33 PM.