The mutating world of a killer virus

The Straits Times ^ | April 22, 2003 | Andy Ho

[Betty Jo]

I can almost hear the mutations going on!

[CathyRyan]

Report of SARS cases in the United States

---

Data reported to the World Health Organization on April 20, 2003.
State: Total Cases/ Suspect Cases/ Probable Cases
Alabama: 1 / 1 / 0
Arizona: 1 / 1 / 0
California: 45 / 33 / 12
Colorado: 8 / 6 / 2
Connecticut: 4 / 2 / 2
Florida: 14 / 14 / 0
Georgia: 3 / 3 / 0
Hawaii: 5 / 3 / 2
Illinois: 13 / 12 / 1
Indiana: 1 / 1 / 0
Kansas: 1 / 0 / 1
Kentucky: 2 / 1 / 1
Maine: 2 / 2 / 0
Massachusetts: 12 / 11 / 1
Michigan: 3 / 3 / 0
Minnesota: 7 / 7 / 0
Mississippi: 2 / 1 / 1
Missouri: 2 / 2 / 0
Nevada: 2 / 2 / 0
New Hampshire: 1 / 1 / 0
New Jersey: 3 / 2 / 1
New Mexico: 1 / 0 / 1
New York: 26 / 21 / 5
North Carolina: 6 / 6 / 0
Ohio: 11 / 8 / 3
Oregon: 1 / 1 / 0
Pennsylvania: 6 / 5 / 1
Rhode Island: 1 / 1 / 0
South Carolina: 2 / 2 / 0
Texas: 7 / 7 / 0
Utah: 5 / 4 / 1
Vermont: 2 / 2 / 0
Virginia: 6 / 4 / 2
Washington: 21 / 20 / 1
Wisconsin: 1 / 1 / 0
Total: 228 / 190 / 38

******

[aristeides]

The best studied coronavirus is the one that causes infectious peritonitis in cats, which are killed in an outbreak but are otherwise carriers between epidemics. The Sars virus could later enter that state, WHO authorities suggested last week.

Scary.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis.

[CathyRyan]

Ping

[aristeides]

Forgot to ping you.

While I'm pinging you, there's also this. Sialodacryoadentitis Virus in Rats. This almost never kills on its own, but it knocks out the immune system for a week, allowing secondary infections to kill. It's a coronavirus.

[Joe 6-pack]

"I can almost hear the mutations going on!"

I know that scientists generally pinpoint Asia as the source of this virus; however, there is a certain crusty black pants suit that should be investigated. Lord only knows what kind of contagion is evolving in there, and by the time it gets unleashed on the world, it may be too late!

[Betty Jo]

Geez, I was planning on buying a pack o rats for pets , but now, I dont know......

[Betty Jo]

"Crusty black pants suit"? are you talking bout Hillary?

[Joe 6-pack]

Who else...?

[riri]

Good article.

[aristeides]

China admits Sars may spread out of control.

[aristeides]

Hospital refuses to treat Sars victims too poor to pay bill .

[CathyRyan]

Thanks :)

[Betty Jo]

Failing to treat because the patient has no money or insurance?

Have you walked into an American doctors office and read all the notices re:PAYMENT?

Think our homeless living under bridges will present themselves for treatment?

How bout the Shites on the march in Iraq?

How many thousands of people all over the world have already died from SARS?

Gee, I wonder what the Tom-Toms,Ridge and Thompson have up their sleeves for SARS in America?

Me thinks there are not enough hospitals in America to cope with all this.

WMD right here, right now!

[Judith Anne]

For heaven's sake don't tell _Jim, he tends to panic easily.

[VeganFreeper]

The most important interesting info in the article is how to "correctly" calculate the mortality rate. The resulting mortality figures range between 10% and 20%.

What the article doesn't address is what happens to the people who neither die or recover. Will they eventually recover? Then they should be included in the mortality calculation (in the denominator).

Bottom line, there is probably more than one credible way to calculate a mortality statistic from the available data.

[riri]

WMD right here, right now!

That bears repeating.

[aristeides]

The Widening SARS Epidemic.

[aristeides]

Canada Widens Inquiry Into Spread of SARS: Authorities Seek Hundreds Possibly Exposed to Disease by Health Care Workers Who Broke Quarantine .