SARS infects 'protected' medical staff Gloves, gowns, masks didn't stop outbreak at Sunnybrook

CanWest News Service - The Ottawa Citizen - canada.com ^ | April 20, 2003 | David Rider

[John Valentine]

The best data I have seen indicates lethality rate of about 15% to 20%.

The only reason you are seeing numbers like 5% bandied about is that they are using a bogus denominator.

You need to look at outcomes; deaths over deaths plus recoveries.

[friendly]

lethality rate of about 15% to 20%

Man, I pray you are wrong.

[Axenolith]

No, it's an antiviral produced by Gilead and Roche that's effective in shortening the duration and severity of Flu and is ~92% effective in preventing children and the elderly from contracting it.

They were giving it a shot on some victims, and Roche is either being somewhat guarded on the results or they just don't have enough data.

[this_ol_patriot]

Silly question but did they check for fleas?

[DB]

Hey... I like "error born"... Describes my writing to a tee...

Make that "air borne"...

[DB]

Yes, so far the recoveries plus the deaths doesn't add up.

[Judith Anne]

I don't know, but with airborne/aerosolized transmission, there was probably no need to look for an insect vector, such as ticks or fleas.

I see your point, though, due to plague transmission from fleas. There is/was also airborne/aerosolized transmission of pneumonic plague (also y. pestis).

[Unassuaged]

I remember it being ducks.

[John Valentine]

Yes, so far the recoveries plus the deaths doesn't add up.

Can you explain what you mean by this statement?

[DB]

The sum of the deaths and recoveries doesn't come close to the total infected meaning there are many stuck in the middle.

[John Valentine]

The sum of the deaths and recoveries doesn't come close to the total infected meaning there are many stuck in the middle.

Naturally. Those are the sick ones. No one knows yet how many of these will recover and how many will die.

We only know that the number of sick people now is larger than the number of sick people was when the current dead and recovered were still alive and still sick. So using the current sick population as the denominator in a fraction the nemerator of which has nothing to do with the demnominator yields an essentially meaningless fraction.

Better to look at the ratio of the dead to the total individuals whose disease has run it's course and ended in either death or recovery.

[CathyRyan]

Not that I heard of. Good guestion!

[DB]

That's true, but from the look of it, many are not getting better but haven't died as of yet.

[MarMema]

Canada's health care system is a (truly) sick joke

And it must be if they took 4 hours to intubate someone.

[montag813]

Virus' are very small, if it is carried in the air without rapidly dying then that't big trouble. No typical medical mask is going to protect you from something so small.

Can't the companies whose products can detect the airborne presence of Anthrax use them to detect viruses? This could at least warn of SARS-infected persons before they are treated, if deployed in hospitals.

[DB]

I don't know but I would seriously doubt it. Anthrax for example is very large compared to a virus. You also have to remember there are lots of things floating around in the air that harmless. You're basically looking for a needle in a haystack.

[aristeides]

Complex Problem: Hong Kong housing project home to 300-plus SARS cases.

[aristeides]

SARS victim rode jammed GO Trains: Health officials urge nearby riders to put themselves into quarantine.

[TEXASPROUD]

I can see myself wearing a Scott air pack when I check on my patients. This is going to get interesting.

[CathyRyan]

ProMED has an update

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/askus/f?p=2400:1001:66386430046058465::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,21339