Experts Predict Spread of Mystery Illness (SARS)

Salon.com ^ | April 5, 2003 | Daniel Q. Haney

[EternalHope]

Those of us who have been following this all know keeping SARS from breaking out at this point would be a minor miracle. However, this is the first time I have this stated explicitly in print, citing credible sources.

BTW: I found this in a Google search. Honest! I don't read Salon! (pre-emptive flame retardant applied)

I also found the same article listed by Google at several other sites, but it had already been removed at each site. It lasted less than two hours at each site.

[unspun]

A very intelligent and well rounded report, I think.

[TrueBeliever9]

THE US count went from 62 on Monday to 115 on Friday. That sounds like a steep jump to me.

[Judith Anne]

Thank you very much for posting this. Some grim days ahead, maybe.

[JimDingle]

People are making a big deal out of nothing. I would bet the flu has the same mortality rate as SARS does.

[chicagolady]

I am sorry to be a conspiricy theorist

BUT All I see is ANOTHER VACCINE CREATED BY THE FILTHY RICH DRUG COMPANIES.

They also call it population control.
I have never had a stupid flu shot and am healthier for it. Just like our poor canine companion friends we are being VACCINED TO DEATH.
Forget the new SARS vaccine that has already been in the news. I will take my chances!

[TennesseeProfessor]

SARS is worse that the Flu. Normally, Flu kills at most 1% of the people it infects, and the people severly affected already had weakened immune systems. Plus there is a vaccine that doesn't always work but usually helps. SARS has no vaccine, affects healthy people, and has something approaching 3% fatality. For comparison, the Spanish Flu also has 3% fatality rates and spread even easier than SARS, but the Super-Flu bugs are very rare.

[Justa]

Someone on FR recently pointed out that it takes several weeks to die from SARS so the mortality rate is misleading given the rapid increase of infection. When the deaths were compared to the reported cases at the time of infection the mortality rate was 7-8%.

[TheSeer]

Great update for those who are following the threat of SARS.

As of this date, the only recommended personal defense to contracting this disease, as graphically seen in the geometrically expanding infected populations, is the wearing of surgical masks.

At least the troops have masks. Maybe we all should.

[bribriagain]

bump

[EternalHope]

I would bet the flu has the same mortality rate as SARS does.

It would be nice if it did, but it doesn't.

Spanish flu: 2.5% of those infected died (the worst flu the U.S. has had)

Typical flu: 0.1% to 0.2% of those infected die.

SARS: 3% to 4% of those infected die, if computed simply by dividing the total number of deaths by the number of cases.

However, SARS is so new that most victims are still sick. Some of the sick will die, and some of those who live will have permanently damaged lungs. If you take yesterday's statistics from Hong Kong, you will find 17 have died, 99 have recovered, and 645 are still sick. With numbers like these, it is simply too soon to know what the statistics will end up looking like.

We don't even have a reliable way to confirm a diagnosis of SARS. The United States has elected to err on the side of caution, reporting SARS on a "Suspected" basis. Some of the "suspected" cases are already being re-classified as something else. In other words, SARS cases in the United States are jumbled up with other kinds of pneumonia, making current statistics for SARS in the United States meaningless.

If you want statistics about SARS, Hong Kong is your best bet (statistics from there may not be accurate either). If you want to read about how SARS started in Hong Kong, first hand, then go here:

A top doctor's report from Hong Kong

It's relatively short, and a good read.

[RobRoy]

Did somebody mention ten monkeys, or do we get the whole dozen?

[theFIRMbss]

>Those of us who have been following this all know keeping SARS from breaking out at this point would be a minor miracle

I've a bad feeling
about this all this SARS business.
If this is check out

time, I'd like to say
Thank You to everyone at
FreeRepublic, and

I'm glad our last days
gave us a chance to spend time
with such decent folks.

[Radioactive]

Sounds like a bio-engineered disease to me.

The People of the NEW WORLD ORDER that RUSH laughs about have been advocating the killing off of 80% of the worlds population for years.

It looks as if they found a way to kill off a lot of people without taking any blame.

This type of disease is just not natural. It looks as if they start these plagues in obscure areas of the world that has a lot of (USELESS EATERS,their words), hoping to get them to die off in great numbers.

[EternalHope]

I haven't seen the movie (12 Monkeys), but I doubt SARS is nearly as bad as what I suspect is in the movie.

We already know SARS does not kill the vast majority of the people who get it. And even if it breaks out, not everyone will even get in the first place. The Spanish Flu in 1918 only infected 25% of the American population.

[Fury]

Ping for you. Your comments are respected on these matters.

I had an RN tell me that one of the best things you can do in regards to certain types of "bugs" around is to wash your hands. She said what used to be taught as something important years ago is taken for granted that folks know to do today. And many do not wash their hands, even after going to the bathroom.

I think the other thing is courtesy. It is slightly gross when you go to grab a doorknob and it is wet and slimy. Ugh. Maybe Howard Hughes was onto something! LOL

Lastly, people something do not know their limits. A couple of years ago, I had an employee that came into work, puking and hacking like mad. I TOLD him to go home. He did not want to and I said "I'll not have you spread what you have to the rest of the staff in the suite because you are stubborn". He ended up being able to get some rest.

[chicagolady]

Yet one more example of problems that will result when you are not providing your body with the resources it needs to maintain high-level health.

SARS, HIV, Lyme's, Herpes, many others and as yet undiscovered infections--these are NOT the problem. They are only the triggers that highlight the weaknesses in our immune armor.

[Fury]

people something = people sometimes