SARS may cause WHO to impose travel ban...

[Dr Mordrid]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030325/1/39dlk.html

As 25 more new SARS cases were reported in Hong Kong, the WHO head office in Geneva said a meeting planned on Tuesday will determine if there is need to impose travel restrictions to stem the spread of SARS, which manifests itself as a form of pneumonia.

The mystery virus, spread through direct close contact with an infected person, has caused at least 17 deaths and 456 "suspected or probable" cases around the world, WHO officials said.

Looking grim based on the case reports I've read.

Dr. Mordrid

[ZokesPro]

I read the news on that yesterday, grim indeed. Especially since they don't know what it is.

Apparently they had to close down a few schools and recommended that people wear those face masks and avoid populated areas to avoid infection.

[GT98]

Why is this in the temp forum?

[Ant]

I just saw that Doc posted it and put two and two together

[Tjalfe]

There are now 15 cases of SARS in Ontario, Canada...3 dead, according to CBC radio this morning

[The PIT]

Just needless panic stirring.

[GNEP]

Oops. Just arranged a workshop for next week which needs a couple of colleagues from Singapore to come along... hope they are OK...

[ZokesPro]

Originally posted by tjalfe
There are now 15 cases of SARS in Ontario, Canada...3 dead, according to CBC radio this morning

Did they mention in what city?

[gt40]

All 3 in SCarborough general hospital - I believe they had been back from a visit to Asia

[cjolley]

It may be the common cold gone psycho!

Yikes!

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Living/ap20030325_600.html

chuck

[az]

Originally posted by Ant
I just saw that Doc posted it and put two and two together

LOL

AZ

[Jammrock]

Genetically altered on purpose? Or the next natural evolution of the common cold?

hmmmm...

Jammrock

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not the cold or flu virus, but these days who can tell if it was engineered? I'd sure as hell be more suspicious of it these days than I would have been a couple of years ago, that's for sure.

The guys at Frankfurt University say their suspected bug resembles paramyxovirus, the family of virii that causes measles, mumps and canine distemper.

The paramyxovirus family also includes the respiratory syncytial virus, which causes croup in children, and parainfluenza virus, which causes flu-like symptoms but is not the flu.

So far the work here is pointing to it being a new variant of paramyxovirus.

Which ever way this goes getting a new vaccine for this bug is very important because it could cause one hell of an epidemic...maybe even a pandemic.

I don't think anyone wants something like the 1918-1919 flu pandemic to get started. It killed over 21.6 million people world-wide and almost 700,000 here in the US alone with 20 million infected.

One very depressiung fact that the flu pandemic killed more US soldiers on WWI battlefields than did bullets & bombs: 57,000 vs. 53,500.

Dr. Mordrid

[GT98]

Wasn't another reason that the Flu of 1919 was spread so rapidly was because of the troops deployed to Europe in WW1?

[RhinoZ]

What do you think Doc, will we see this "Super Bug" or "Super Flu" in the next decade or so, that some Doctors are predicting?