Canadian SARS Virus Outbreak Rises to 129 Cases

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian health officials reported 31 new cases of the deadly SARS pneumonia virus on Monday as hospital access across Ontario, the country's most populous province, was restricted in bid to contain the outbreak.

The latest figures bring the number of probable and suspect cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to 129, one of the largest outside Asia. Ontario has been hit with 111 of the cases, with the remainder appearing in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Ontario health officials said restrictive hospital measures put in place in Toronto, such as discouraging visitors and screening patients, would be extended to every hospital in the province of more than 11 million people.

Officials said the virus has been contained largely to medical staff and others who came into close contact with a handful of SARS victims who traveled from Hong Kong.

"I can't say this often enough, the risk to the general public is extremely low," Dr. Sheela Basrur, Toronto's medical officer of health, told a news conference.

But the death of a fourth Toronto-area patient over the weekend has prompted some residents of the country's largest city to avoid public places and don masks on the subway.

Many of the customs officials at Toronto's Pearson International Airport have been wearing face masks as they question arriving passengers.

The outbreak has prompted panic buying of masks and health-care workers have complained the government is not doing enough to secure supplies.

Ontario's commissioner of public security, Dr. James Young, said on Monday the province has ordered as many masks as possible but limited supplies means it has to distribute them on the basis of risk.

"That, unfortunately, doesn't mean that we can give everyone in society a mask right now. Nor do we think that everyone needs a mask right now," he said.

Thousands of people who visited two Toronto-area hospitals before the outbreak was identified have been asked to quarantine themselves for 10 days.

English | Español | Français


		Search

Alert & Response Operations

Diseases

Drug Resistance

Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network

International Health Regulations

Laboratory & Epidemiology Strengthening

Preparedness for Deliberate Epidemics

Public Health Mapping


	Communicable Disease Surveillance & Response (CSR)

| | | |

Location: > > >

Cumulative Number of Reported Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

From: 1 Nov 2002¹ To: 31 Mar 2003, 17:00 GMT+2

Country	Cumulative number of case(s)	Number of deaths	Local chain(s) of transmission²
Canada	44	4	Yes
China³	806	34	Yes
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	530	13*	Yes
China, Taiwan	10	0	Yes
France	1	0	None
Germany	5	0	None
Italy	2	0	None
Republic of Ireland	2	0	None
Romania	3	0	None
Singapore	91	2	Yes
Switzerland	3	0	None
Thailand	5	1	None
United Kingdom	3	0	None
United States	59 Â§	0	To be determined
Viet Nam	58	4	Yes
Total	1622	58

Notes:
Cumulative number of cases includes number of deaths.

As SARS is a diagnosis of exclusion, the status of a reported case may change over time. This means that previously reported cases may be discarded after further investigation and follow-up.

1. The start of the period of surveillance has been changed to 1 November 2002 to capture cases of atypical pneumonia in China that are now recognized as being cases of SARS.

2. National public health authorities report to WHO on the areas in which local chain(s) of transmission is/are occurring. These areas are provided on the list of Affected Areas.

3. The reporting period from Guangdong Province is from 16 November 2002 to 28 February 2003.

Â§ Due to differences in the case definitions being used at a national level, probable cases are reported by all countries except the United States of America, which is reporting suspect cases under investigation.

* One death attributed to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China occurred in a case medically transferred from Viet Nam.

Dr. Carlo Urbani of the World Health Organization dies of SARS

29 March 2002

Dr. Carlo Urbani, an expert on communicable diseases, died today of SARS. Dr. Urbani, worked in public health programs in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam. He was based in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Dr. Urbani was 46.

Dr. Urbani was the first WHO officer to identify the outbreak of this new disease, in an American businessman who had been admitted to a hospital in Hanoi. Because of his early detection of the disease, global surveillance was heightened and many new cases have been identified and isolated before they infected hospital staff. In Hanoi, the SARS outbreak appears to be coming under control.

“Carlo was a wonderful human being and we are all devastated,” said Pascale Brudon, the World Health Representative in Viet Nam. “He was very much a doctor, his first goal was to help people. Carlo was the one who very quickly saw that this was something very strange. When people became very concerned in the hospital, he was there everyday, collecting samples, talking to the staff and strengthening infection control procedures.”

Dr. Urbani was married and the father of three children.

Dr. Urbani received his medical degree from the University of Ancona, Italy, and did post-graduate work in malaria and medical parasitology. He was an expert in the parasitic diseases of schoolchildren. He was also a president of Médecins Sans Frontières-Italy.

“Carlo Urbani’s death saddens us all deeply at WHO,” said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO’s Director-General. “His life reminds us again of our true work in public health. Today, we should all pause for a moment and remember the life of this outstanding physician.”

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.