SARS LIKELY SPREAD THROUGH HONG KONG APARTMENT'S SEWAGE PIPES

Canadian Press ^ | Thursday, April 17, 2003 | MIN LEE

[Doctor Stochastic]

The buildings where I work have automatic flush toilets (supersonic, by the sound) and no lids.

[TheBigB]

don't breath dried deer mouse urine.

Good advice for anyone, I expect! LOL

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

A SARS patient with diarrhea infected other people...as the disease apparently spread into homes through a sewage pipe linked to poorly sealed water drains, an official report said Thursday.

Good heavens, how many different methods of transmission there can be?

From the World Health Organization;

Wednesday, 16 April 2003 Press briefing:

Close personal contact is the major way that we believe this disease is spread, from person to person, sitting next to you or just in front of you, by something that comes from you that lands on them, as you speak or as you cough.

[InShanghai]

Unfortunately, many toilets (including those in the building where I work) don't have lids any more.

I don't know if I should laugh or cry...

[Dog Gone]

I was wondering when India would get its first case. If the SARS virus gets into the Genges River, there's no telling how fast it would spread.

[buffyt]

My cats prefer to drink straight from the faucet. I wish they could learn how to turn it on and off!

[First Amendment]

The pneumonia-like illness has killed at least 166 people and infected about 1,300 worldwide.

What's with these figures???? I will go search for new SARS articles but aren't these numbers way low??

[riri]

Yes, the cases are more like double that number.

I feel like I am in a bad sci fi horror movie.

Airport heat Sensors Used to Conquer SARS

My husband has a meeting today with some self important executive type who routinely travels to Asia. I told him sit as far away from him as you can, wash your hands after meeting with him and if he is coughing or looking blue don't come home. LOL

[riri]

New Pro Med Update for 4.17

Most of you all probably have this site bookmarked but for any newcomers.

[MissBaby]

The reporting here and lack of familiarity is leaving a bit of a misconception in how SARS spreads through pipes.

The way the bathrooms are set up in Asia is the bathroom floor has a vent/drain. You can literally hose your bathroom clean and the water washing down the floor drain. The drain also acts as a vent for the tub/shower.

Anyone that has lived over there, anyone from the U.S. or other Western Country, knows to put a wet towel over the vent becuase sometimes you get an odor from it.

I'm certainly no expert in how SARS spreads, but these pipes are more akin to vents than they are to pipes. They are actually an air to air vent and all the aparments are linked by them.

Not sure how much difference this makes to anyone except that you can bet now that Westerners are not the only one sealing off that little floor drain/vent.

[MissBaby]

Note that the story says no airborne transmission.

I personally think the reporter is mixed up. It is airborne transmission through vent pipes (see my post 30) that they are calling sewage pipes.

[per loin]

Cheap plumbing. If they have floor drains, they should have trap primers to insure the water seal against such rise of vapors.

[aristeides]

If Asian plumbing is what has allowed the spread, that would explain why there has been so little secondary spread in this country. But it doesn't explain Toronto, does it?

[aristeides]

Speaking of Toronto, here's what may be a case of SARS spreading from one condo to another: Condo residents may have been exposed to SARS.