Conspiracy Alert! SARS

[bwerb]

Anyone else following this Sudden Onset Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak?

OK, when was the last time that anyone heard of the quarantines that they are putting out for this for any other contagious disease? City of Toronto has advised that anyone who VISITED certain hospitals in the city to go home and stay put for 10 days. The Ontario health ministry applied to Health Canada to get the bug listed as a certain "type" of infection so that they can involuntarily commit people to quarantine. I have also read national travel advisorys which recommend totally against visiting Hong Kong. They also announced today that the airports in Vancouver and Toronto will be starting health inspections to all passengers leaving for overseas destinations. They haven't figured out exactly how they will do it yet but expect to announce in the next day or so.

So...what are they not telling us?

With these types of warnings and precautions I'm pretty sure that there is a MAJOR freak-out session going on at the CDC.

So, is this the next Black Death? Is this some genetically engineered super bug? Is this the ultimate in bio warfare?

What's going on in your corner of the world? What are you hearing?

 

[Rooster1]

My wife was telling me today that some passengers coming from Asia into Toronto have brought SARS with them and a couple of them have died. I don't know the whole story

 

[GearHead]

I read in the local news that there are a couple of unconfirmed cases in Vancouver. That they are people who travelled from Toronto recently and probably contracted it there. No details beyond that off the top of my head, but it sounds like one scary disease.

I think I'll be wearing a Full-Face-Mask and drysuit in hospitals from now on. :hiding:

 

[Rooster1]

my wife works for a home health care company and the masks you are talking about are sold out everywhere! She says the mask will not prevent you from getting the disease anyway.

 

[GearHead]

I'm not so sure you're thinking of the same thing, Rooster. Did the masks look like this?
Full Face Masks
I'd feel pretty germ proof in one of these units.

Rooster1 once bubbled...
my wife works for a home health care company and the masks you are talking about are sold out everywhere! She says the mask will not prevent you from getting the disease anyway.

 

[Butch103]

Was first noted in a hospital in Hing Kong. In excess of 1000 people in Hong Kong have died. Apparantly the Chinese hid the outbreak from WHO and allowed it to spread.

It has not been confirmed, or even suggested publically that it was an engineered virus.

Until it is proven otherwise, to even suggest that it is an engineered virus unleashed upon us is a pure show of paranoia.

 

[Cherry]

The media is reporting 1 confirmed case of SARS in Vancouver it was isolated very quickly tho and unlike Toronto the individual didnt come into contact with very many people. You would think tho in a community like Vancouver with its very high asian population that it would be more likely to have a wider exposure. If anyone feels the need we sell Chemical exposure suits and masks It requires very intimate exposure and dosent appear to transmit easily. thank god

Cherry

 

[pufferfish]

SARS is a major global health threat and Toronto is ground zero in North America. We have about 38 cases probable and suspected in the city right now mainly in the east end, but cases are starting to pop up in other cities. In the States there are about 51 suspected cases with 12 of those in California.

No this disease is not bioterrorism but likely the result of man and animal living in close proximity. Most evidence indicates it started in rural China sometime in November. If you have seen pictures from there pigs, chickens, cats, and dogs all roam through people's yards and houses. These animals get sick and every once in a while one of those animal viruses jumps from an animal to human causing a new disease. Alternatively a known human virus may have mutated to become more virulent but this is less likely. Sometime in February a medical professor from this region in China traveled to Hong Kong and stayed at a particular hotel where he became ill. Seven other people on the same floor became infected either in an elevator with him or from touching something like the elevator buttons where the virus had been deposited. Two of those seven people then get on an airplane and fly back to Toronto where they become severely ill and end up in hospital but not before infecting several family members. At this point in time the doctors, nurses, and public health officials don't take the necessary precautions of wearing face masks, etc. and many of them and other patients become infected. The medics who transported the patients also get infected. A week goes by where public health drags their feet before recognizing the seriousness of the disease. All these infected people then go back to their homes and infect other family members who then go off to work and school. One can see all of a sudden we have a huge problem on our hands with an exponential increase in the number of cases. If this chain of infection is not broken the entire city could become infected in a very short period of time. That is where we were yesterday why the 'health emergency' was declared. People can now be ordered forcefully to stay in their homes.

A few facts about this disease. It is known to be caused by a virus and so antibiotics do not work. Two viruses have been implicated and evidence is leaning toward a new type of coronavirus (nothing to do with the beer) which normally just causes the common cold. It seems to be transmitted by droplets from sneezing or coughing which can travel six to seven feet. Evidence suggests that the virus may be able to survive on fomites (elevator buttons, tables, etc.) for up to three hours. Surgical face masks DO protect against the virus but paint and sanding masks do not. The best type is a NG95 mask but they are in short supply around the world. Ontario just bought 300,000 today. The incubation period is two to seven days maybe up to ten hence the ten day quarantine period. Tracing contacts, masks, and hand washing are the way to break this chain of infection or put a trench around the fire so to speak. The mortality rate seems to be around three to four percent which is why health authorities are "freaking out". The most susceptible persons have not been determined yet but most of the deaths so far have been in healthy adults. Your age and state of immunity likely determine outcome.

In Toronto there is not widespread panic but people are anxious about the disease. The fact it is so far contained in the east end of the city seems to have kept things manageable but if cases start showing up all over the city things could get nasty. Over a thousand people are now under strict quarantine orders. SARS here has surpassed war talk among friends.

The horse got out of the barn here in Toronto because we had those two cases in early March . In other cities public health authorities now have the benefit of our experience and will be very aggresive in dealing with this. Contacts will be traced and ordered to stay home like in the TB days of the past. This is not end of the world but the first warning that North America is not immune to new emerging infectious diseases. West Nile and SARS are likely the way of the future and there will likely be 'badder bugs' to come. These infections spread at jet speed.

 

[pufferfish]

Butch103, check your facts.
As of today there have been 1408 cases with 53 deaths world wide.
www.cdc.gov is an excellent source of info and there are links to WHO sites.

 

[frogfish]

bwerb - I am almost at the heart of the matter as I am living in Singapore (2 confirmed deaths, 800 people in Quarantine, all schools closed...) and really even though it is not panic yet people are very worried - as soon as you see someone coughing, you move away pretty fast !