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It is in the breaking news sidebar!
Posted on 04/14/2003 2:34:57 AM PDT by sarcasm
BEIJING (AP) -- Premier Wen Jiabao said the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in China was "grave" - a departure from earlier assurances that the illness was under control in the nation where it is suspected to have emerged.
Meanwhile, progress was reported on another front: Scientists in Canada announced Sunday that they had identified the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing SARS - a surprisingly rapid achievement that is the first step toward a diagnostic test and possible vaccine.
The global death toll has reached at least 137, including four new fatalities in China announced Monday by the World Health Organization.
Among the most recent deaths were six cases in Hong Kong of young adults who doctors had thought would have had a good chance of recovery.
Worldwide, about 3,000 people have confirmed or suspected SARS infections. Most cases have been in Asia, where worried governments have tightened the screening of passengers at airports and invoked strict quarantine rules.
In Canada, the hardest hit country outside Asia, scientists at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver worked 24 hours a day for six days to sequence the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing SARS.
Researchers reported that the gene sequence suggests a previously unknown coronavirus unrelated to any known human or animal viruses.
Their rapid completion was an "extraordinary step," said Dick Thompson, a spokesman for the World Health Organization in Geneva, which has tracked the spread of SARS.
Global health authorities suspect SARS emerged in China, where the communist government has been accused of failing to release enough information about the outbreak.
The premier, Wen, warned that China's economy, international image and social stability might feel the impact of the disease, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.
"Much progress has been made in combating the disease ... but the overall situation remains grave," Xinhua quoted Wen as saying Sunday at a national meeting on SARS.
The comments, carried by newspapers on Monday, were a striking change from recent government assurances and were the highest-level admission that SARS is a threat to China, whose official death toll from the mysterious illness on the mainland hit 60 over the weekend.
China has reported more than 1,300 cases of infection and 64 deaths, most of them in the southern province of Guangdong, where the first cases emerged in November.
Beijing has been criticized abroad and by ordinary Chinese for its slow release of information on the spread of SARS and how its people can protect themselves.
Until recently, Chinese state media reported little on SARS, usually running brief items that cited official statements that the disease was under control. Journalists at state media were ordered to avoid independent reporting on the outbreak.
Although scientists have yet to isolate the cause of SARS and find a cure, most sufferers recover with prompt medical attention. About 4 percent of those infected have died, and doctors have said that patients with aggravating illnesses appear most at risk.
However, health officials in Hong Kong said Monday they were trying to figure out why six relatively young SARS patients with no aggravating illnesses have died in recent days.
Many of the territory's other fatalities have been elderly people or patients suffering from other chronic health problems, such as heart disease or kidney disease.
Six of eight deaths reported over the weekend were people ranging in age from 35 to 52, and Hospital Authority spokeswoman Elinda Luk said Monday that officials were investigating.
The senior executive manager of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, Dr. Liu Shao-haei, said Monday that some of the younger patients came to the hospital when they were already in a serious condition and their conditions worsened even after they received intensive care.
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Good. Next some honesty from the ChiComs about the millions in bribe money they paid to the Democratic National Committee and the evil Clintons. And an honest accounting of the Crown Jewels of our nuclear and missle Top Secrets they paid these traitors.
They should do what they know how to do best,... close their borders!
Mr Wen warned that China's economy, international image and social stability might feel the impact of the spreading disease.
He called for more official efforts to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome.
"Much progress has been made in combating the disease but the overall situation remains grave," Xinhua News Agency quoted Mr Wen as saying at a national meeting on fighting the disease.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6286075%255E401,00.html
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