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Available tests to detect SARS not fully reliable, says WHO
Bangkok Post ^
| April 9, 2003
| Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
Posted on 04/08/2003 12:23:39 PM PDT by EternalHope
Available tests to detect Sars not fully reliable, says WHO
Defence chief puts off trip to China
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
Tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) are not completely reliable, says the World Health Organisation.
``The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) molecular test for detecting Sars virus genetic material is useful in the early stages of infection but produces many false negatives, meaning many people who actually carry the virus may not be detected,'' it said.
Such measures could create a dangerous sense of false security for a virus that is known to spread easily in close person-to-person contact.
The Thai government has prepared three laboratories to test the virus when the PCR molecular test arrives on Thursday.
Somsong Rakphao, director-general of the Medical Sciences Department, said laboratories at his department, at Siriraj hospital and Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research would be ready to test Sars-suspected specimens from Friday onwards.
WHO said all three available diagnostic tests had limitations as tools for bringing the Sars outbreak quickly under control.
It said the so-called ELISA test for detecting antibodies was reliable from about day 20 after the onset of clinical symptoms, which means that it cannot be used in the early stages.
The immunofluorescence assay (IFA) test detects antibodies as of day 10, but is a demanding and comparatively slow test that requires the growth of the virus in cell culture.
To date 2,601 cases of Sars and 98 deaths have been reported from 17 countries. Local chains of transmission of Sars have been confirmed in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada and the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Shanxi.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry's Centre on Sars said one Taiwanese tourist, whose condition has improved, has been admitted to hospital on suspicion of having Sars.
Two Thai men who recently returned from Sars-infected countries are being monitored at Kalasin and Rayong.
Health authorities have also followed up on the condition of 66 people, only to find out that they were suffering from common cold.uThe Sars virus has prompted Defence Minister Gen Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya to call off his trip to China next month.
Gen Thammarak's May 8-15 visit accompanied by five top military officers was to strengthen Thai-Chinese military ties, and discuss arms trade and anti-drug smuggling measures.
He was to be accompanied by Supreme Commander Gen Surayud Chulonont, army chief Gen Somdhat Attanand, navy chief Adm Thaweesak Somapa, air force chief ACM Kongsak Wanthana and defence permanent secretary Gen Samphan Boonyanan.
TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: sars
This is the first specific info I have seen on the tests being used to "positively" identify SARS.
The tests are very slow, and tend to have false negatives. A test to quickly and reliably identify a SARS patient is urgently needed.
To: All
2
posted on
04/08/2003 12:26:15 PM PDT
by
Support Free Republic
(Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
To: EternalHope
Available tests to detect Sars not fully reliable, says WHO
Well then, no sense in using them, eh? What twerps. The same thing happened with AIDS. There was a test for Hepatitis-C, as I recall, that would usually indicate the presence of AIDS antibodies. But because it wasn't 100% accurate, various health orgs (CDC, WHO) wouldn't put *any* faith in it.
3
posted on
04/08/2003 12:30:41 PM PDT
by
theDentist
(So..... This is Virginia..... where are all the virgins?)
To: theDentist; EternalHope; bonesmccoy; Neuromancer; CathyRyan; aristeides; Dog Gone; riri; ...
Do any of the health care pros here have a dollar figure for what it costs per day to keep a patient in an isolation ward in an American hospital?
4
posted on
04/08/2003 1:01:02 PM PDT
by
per loin
To: EternalHope
Was this test developed before the WHO confirmed the identification of the SARS virus? The WHO seems now to have done that:
WHO identifies SARS virus .
To: per loin
To: aristeides
The recent WHO announcement that a new variant of the coronavirus is the SARS culprit is simply making official what everyone except China has been saying for some time.
Unfortunately, it does not move us any closer to a fast, reliable way to test for this disease.
7
posted on
04/08/2003 1:13:56 PM PDT
by
EternalHope
(Chirac is funny, France is a joke.)
To: per loin
Well, let's see... the Clinton Liebrary costs....
8
posted on
04/08/2003 1:14:08 PM PDT
by
theDentist
(So..... This is Virginia..... where are all the virgins?)
To: aristeides
Was this test developed before the WHO confirmed the identification of the SARS virus? Not sure but last I remember reading they were trying to reproduce the virus in an animal. according to this article, it looks like they have done this.
When monkey cells were infected with the new virus, the virus multiplied and then deformed the host cells. But a serum from patients who developed an immunity to SARS after recovering from the disease controlled cell deformation, according to a statement released Monday by the WHO. The serum could be used to treat the disease, observers said.
I really wish I weren't so scientifically illiterate. Do they have an Epidemiology-Understanding the Plague for Dummies?
9
posted on
04/08/2003 1:26:01 PM PDT
by
riri
To: riri
To: riri
It's the sentence, not the science.
Looks like they infected mokney cells with (suspected SARS) virus. The cells deformed in a particular way associated with SARS.
Next they took serum (some liquid from the blood) from a patient with SARS and added this serum to the monkey cell culture. The cells un-deformed.
The idea is that the suspected SARS virus caused a similar reaction in the monkey cells as it does in SARS patients. The serum from the SARS patients caused the monkey cells to "recover" indicating that this was likely the correct virus.
11
posted on
04/08/2003 1:36:32 PM PDT
by
Doctor Stochastic
(Vegetabilisch = chaotisch is der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
To: EternalHope
FYI: I'm a middleman in the healthcare supply business. Today, I attempted to place a routine order for surgical masks. I was told by the mfg. that they were currently running 6-month backorders, minimum! I tried to ascertain just who had been buying them up but they weren't forthcoming at all.
I've been halfway expecting this. It seems to me the utility of these masks in preventing transmission is still questionable. Let's hope there isn't a pressing need for mass qtys as they may not be readily available.
12
posted on
04/08/2003 1:48:42 PM PDT
by
Dysart
To: Dysart
To: EternalHope
Available tests to detect SARS not fully reliable, says WHO WHO sez WHAT? WHY? The cat sez HE don't trust THEM!
14
posted on
04/08/2003 1:54:59 PM PDT
by
Revolting cat!
(Subvert the dominant cliche!)
To: Doctor Stochastic
Next they took serum (some liquid from the blood) from a patient with SARS and added this serum to the monkey cell culture. The cells un-deformed. Am I understanding this correctly? They took a serum from the blood of person who had "recovered" and was now showing immunity against the virus and this serum was retuning the infected calls (of the monkey) back to normal? Showing a recovery of sorts?
15
posted on
04/08/2003 1:57:59 PM PDT
by
riri
To: riri
Not necessarily recovery, but at least a response. That's what the article seems to say.
16
posted on
04/08/2003 2:08:48 PM PDT
by
Doctor Stochastic
(Vegetabilisch = chaotisch is der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
To: Doctor Stochastic
To: per loin
The cost per night in a hospital depends upon the level that the hospital feels they can get away with.
So, the amount varies by geographic location, facility, and type of isolation.
18
posted on
04/08/2003 3:56:52 PM PDT
by
bonesmccoy
(Defeat the terrorists... Vaccinate!)
To: per loin
I'm not in the health care industry, but I found your question interesting. I google searched & looked at some hospital websites but couldn't find much. I did find some figures & length of stay cost for various hospital admissions (not exactly what you ask for). I'll keep checking to see if anyone comes up with something else.
http://www.ahcpr.gov/news/press/pr2002/rishospr.htm Blood poisoning (septicemia)—from $17,909 to $24,365. The average hospital stay declined from 10.0 days to 8.2 days.
Heart rhythm disturbances (cardiac dysrhythmias)—from $10,152 to $14,213. Average hospital stays declined from 4.7 days to 3.6 days.
Stroke (acute cerebral vascular disease)—from $15,365 to $19,956. Average hospital stays fell from 9.5 days to 6.7 days.
Diabetes—from $11,021 to $14,779. Average hospital stays declined from 7.4 days to 5.6 days.
Pneumonia—from $12,860 to $15,104. Average hospital stays decreased from 7.8 days to 6 days.
Congestive heart failure—from $11,995 to $15,293. Average hospital stays declined from 7.4 days to 5.6 days.
Nonspecific chest pain—from $5,135 to $7,543. Average hospital stays fell from 2.5 days to 1.8 days.
Chronic obstructive lung diseases—from $11,263 to $12,491. Average hospital stays declined from 7.2 days to 5.3 days.
19
posted on
04/08/2003 7:22:11 PM PDT
by
flutters
(God Bless The USA)
To: flutters
So on a conservative average, a bit over $2000 a day. Thank's.
20
posted on
04/08/2003 7:31:57 PM PDT
by
per loin
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