[dawn53]

You may be right, but after yesterday's story about how the Hong Kong apartment building outbreak was linked to sanitation, I have my doubts.

We've spent some time in China, and even in large cities like Guangzhou, the sanitation facilities are very poor.

Only toilet we ever saw was in our hotel room. Restaurants had restrooms but no toilets, parks and public areas had ceramic lined trenches. Many people seemed to be "expectorating" (to put it politely) on the sidewalk, even on restaurant floors.

Markets were crowded, we're talking a replay of the "Gideon" episode on Star Trek (if you're a trekkie.) And there was all kinds of animals being slaughtered and the waste from the slaughter was just pooled in the road, so you would have to walk through it.

On the other hand, Toronto seems to have been effected, so my theory may be full of holes.

[Judith Anne]

Your observations are very useful and completely accurate. My concerns about SARS are based on the airborne spread to health care workers (doctors and nurses). Initially, as I understand it, a dry cough is one of the symptoms, and the very microscopic virus shedding that occurs then is likely responsible for the infections of health care workers.

I don't know when the patients start shedding virus, and how long after apparent recovery they continue shedding virus.