More SARS deaths announced. Scary.

[Shwa Girl]

Hope it's not back.

UK death announced, from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In 2012, there were 5 other deaths, mostly in the Middle East.SARS is caused by a coronavirus. It's a respiratory virus.

I remember going to school in 2004 and the dean coming into our class telling us that we can go home. We did our school work by e-mail rather than in class. It was in Toronto during SARS II. I think 1 doctor and 2 nurses died in Toronto. At the time, they did not know what they had on their hands. I remember travelling on the GO train in Toronto, and seeing people sitting with masks on their faces.

Now we have bird flu, swine flu (H1N1 vaccine available), salmon flu (Atlantic salmon), regular flu and SARS. Scary.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/patient...dies-1.1162205

[Natalka]

Yep, it's scary... but this one doesn't seem to pass human to human

"Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection."

http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/n...535/story.html

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/a...rs-says-doctor

[walkonby]

This is not good news, please do not come to my workplace....

[Shwa Girl]

Yep, it's scary... but this one doesn't seem to pass human to human

That's curious. How did those people in the Toronto hospitals contract it?

[Natalka]

I miss-'typed' - not passed as 'easily' human to human... still scary, it's still out there - and with all the international travel these days being even MORE now than it was previously, it's bound to cross continents.

The one being reported as above is 'SARS-like' - in the same family of coronaviruses.

From the aforecited article -

The new Sars-like virus probably originated from an infected bat and was passed to humans via other animals, a veteran Hong Kong virologist said on Monday.


Dr Ho Pak-leung, president of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre of Infection, said the novel coronavirus belongs to the same family as the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus that killed 299 people in Hong Kong, and others worldwide, in 2003.
Ho, speaking on a radio programme, said he believed the novel coronavirus had the same origin as the Sars virus and that their transmission routes to humans were similar.


He said the viruses probably first passed to a wild animal and then on to humans. In the case of the Sars, the virus was passed to humans from palm civets – a wild animal consumed by mainland diners as a delicacy.
Last week, two new infections of the novel coronavirus were reported in Britain, bringing the total number of cases worldwide to 12 since the virus was reported last April. Of the 12 people infected with novel coronavirus, five have died.


Judging from the development of the virus, evidence of its human-to-human transmission had been limited, Ho said.
“If the virus was easily transmissible from human to human, we would have had far more many infections than we do now,” he said.

[Shwa Girl]

Thanks Natalka.
The gentlemen from the middle east were at Mecca during the annual religious celebration. Close contact for sure. And you are right, they travel back home and the virus may be carried that way.

I am thinking that the original SARS virus is adapting and becoming stronger -- mutating into a better virus. Sounds funny, but is still scary.

[vesper]

This is not good. I remember all those folks in Toronto got it 10 years ago, a few healthcre professional died to if I recall. They did a miracle containing it!!

[Shwa Girl]

This is not good. I remember all those folks in Toronto got it 10 years ago, a few healthcre professional died to if I recall. They did a miracle containing it!!

Yes. So if people got the annual 'flu shot, they take care of the seasonal 'flu and swine flu (already mixed with the annual vaccine). So if people go to the hospital with a respiratory illness, two are already eliminated. If not, the docs and specialists have to work harder to find out what is what and then start to treat.

[Decaf]

I was reading something about bird flu virus last week, some sick freak was experimenting and created an airborne bird flu virus.

[Sir Thrift-A-Lot]

Oh gosh. Does anyone watch Unsealed?

& YUP. I remember 10 years ago. A woman who lived in Burlington had it.. and she had gone through my GO station & they cleaned that place liked crazy.. smelled for days.

[danip467]

Doesn't pass easily from human to human-lots of viruses need to be passed through fluids, be it sweat, spit or whatever. Ebola is one of those, just reading up on it the other day-they are able to prevent spread by using simple hospital barriers and proper needle usage techniques. NOt that you'd want to be that close to it....

In this case if this guy had attended a religious thing chances are he's touched hands with a variety of people. Much easier to pass then-good thing it doesn't sound airbourne.

[Shwa Girl]

In this case if this guy had attended a religious thing chances are he's touched hands with a variety of people. Much easier to pass then-good thing it doesn't sound airbourne.

Many went back home using airplanes. The virus can be transmitted through recycled, recirculated air found in a plane.

[hollyquaiscer]

I was reading an article in the newspaper here yesterday about all these illnesses. It seems that the legislature down here in good old USA, does want to do anything about the amount of antibiotics put into their animals that are being sold in the markets. Cows, pigs, swine, and the like get super huge amounts of antibiotic shots here, then, they put it in all the feed. It's getting so bad that researchers are scared that when the next big epidemic sweeps USA, new antibiotics and other meds will be extremely ineffective. Sort of scary. Dh and I have started eating only organ meats and veggies the past few months, but....it's probably to little to late for us. It seems the government down here doesn't see the problem with doping their animals????

[Shwa Girl]

The coronovirus is "well adapted to human lungs". This is scary, that they virus is doing great in the human body.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...s.html?cmp=rss

[Shwa Girl]

So now the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is posting a warning for doctors, to look out for certain signs in their patients.
http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/ncv/