We used to think that we could eventually fully understand medicine and health issues, but it now appears that won't ever be true. New illnesses with new causes will continue to arise.
This SARS thing is fascinating, simply because it demonstrates what we don't know. Why are some people "super-infectors"? Is the virus unstable and mutating into less deadly forms in secondary and tertiary infections? What role do bacteria play into the mix?
How the heck did it get into humans in the first place? Will it burn out like Ebola? Or is it likely to become an even more deadly illness than the Spanish Flu?
None of those questions have reliable answers tonight, and while the total number of people infected worldwide are miniscule, it all comes down to the question of whether we can stop it, or at least contain it, before it has the chance to kill millions.
It's already had an economic impact far beyond its mortality numbers. Cathay Airlines is in severe trouble. The economic fallout on Hong Kong is growing, and it's not an insignificant part of the global economy.
Perhaps the hype is far worse than the actual impact of the illness will be. But maybe not. It's the uncertainty that's killing us more than the illness tonight.
Legionnaires' Disease Associated With Potting Soil --- California, Oregon, and Washington, May--June 2000From: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4934a1.htmSince Legionnaires' Disease (LD) was first reported in 1976, outbreaks have been associated with airborne transmission of Legionella bacteria through cooling towers, showers, and other aerosolizing devices (1). However, most LD cases are sporadic, and the source and mode of infection in many cases are unknown. Infections with one species, Legionella longbeachae, have been associated with gardening and use of potting soil in Australia and Japan (2,3).
This report summarizes the findings of LD investigations in California, Oregon, and Washington, that suggest that transmission from potting soil has occurred for the first time in the United States, and that active surveillance and case finding are warranted to explore this association.
On June 13, 2000, CDC was alerted by a county health official in Washington of L. longbeachae infection in a 46-year-old woman who had been hospitalized with pneumonia. The patient reported that she had been potting plants during the 10 days before her symptoms began in May. An isolate from the patient's sputum was sent to CDC for species confirmation, and two samples of potting soil and one of compost from the original packages obtained from the patient's residence were sent for analysis. L. longbeachae was isolated from one potting soil sample. The compost contained other Legionella species but not longbeachae.
In May, two L. longbeachae isolates had been received at CDC from bronchial wash samples taken from both a 77-year-old Oregon woman and a 45-year-old California man who were both diagnosed with legionellosis. The California patient died and his house was cleaned before an investigation could be undertaken. State and local health officials determined that the Oregon patient had been potting plants using commercial potting soil mixtures and had been working in a home garden during the 10 days before her symptoms began in April. Two potting soil samples taken from her residence were tested for Legionella at CDC; one was positive for L. longbeachae. Isolates of L. longbeachae from the patients and soils will be compared using amplified fragment length polymorphism typing.
Relatively recent too ...