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Is the Sub-continent immune to SARS menace?
HindustanTimes.com ^ | ,April 23, 2003 | Shakti Sharma

Posted on 04/23/2003 5:15:44 AM PDT by CathyRyan

Are people from India and Indian sub-continent immune to the fast spreading SARS virus? This question is baffling the medical community, with doctors discussing the possibility of the virus being race-specific.

Some doctors are of the view that people of the sub-continent may have a higher level of immunity to the virus. They reason that with a large number of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lanka frequenting SARS-affected regions like Singapore, Hong Kong and other territories, hardly anyone has contracted the virus.

WHO (Delhi HQ) Information Officer, Harsharn Pandey avers: "It has been almost five months since the first case of SARS was reported from China, and the virus has spread to 23 countries, but not a single case of SARS has been reported from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh".

AIIMS virologist, Dr Shobha Broor says," Viruses are never race sensitive but it could be possible that people from this part of the sub-continent could have developed antibodies to counter the SARS virus."

Although WHO has no race-wise record of SARS victims - both dead and those affected -- available information culled from various sources points out that no person from this part of the world has died of SARS so far.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US health department, Dr Julie L Gerberding, during a recent video conference, admitted about the typical race-specific behaviour of the virus and said that in China, Hong Kong and Singapore the ongoing transmission of this virus at a very accelerated pace in "certain communities".

Doctors are also pointing out at the fact that the local transmission of the virus has so far been reported from China, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, UK and the USA, while in the sub-continent, people who had tested positive for the virus had brought in the disease from infected nations and the recovery rate is cent percent.

Quoting incidents of SARS, doctors say, the first ever case of SARS in India was reported from Goa where a marine engineer tested positive. The patient, however, responded well to treatment and recovered in almost no time.

In the latest SARS case reported from Pune, three members of a family -- Stanley D'silva, his mother Vimla and sister Julie -- who came to India three weeks ago, tested positive. While Stanley has completely recovered, his mother and sister are responding well to treatment.

Indian Medical Association (Delhi Chapter) president, KK Aggarwal says the so called SARS positive cases reported cases in India may ultimately test negative, as the confirmatory test for the virus on the convalescent sample has to be done after 21 days.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: sars
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To: mabelkitty
The Alpha patient was an animal handler, and were several of the other victims.

Do you have a source for that? I have only seen him described as a businessman.

41 posted on 04/23/2003 11:07:45 AM PDT by per loin
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To: mabelkitty
Bad batch of monkeys, I guess.

Oh, please! And here I am, about to delve into some wonton and dumplings!

42 posted on 04/23/2003 11:09:42 AM PDT by mikeIII
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To: per loin
Dog gone it, I don't.

I read it from an article linked from here, though. That I do know.

I sure wish I had saved it, because I haven't heard anybody bring it up.

43 posted on 04/23/2003 11:11:16 AM PDT by mabelkitty
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To: Lady Heron
I'm thinking ChiComs just realized they can't support one billion people and are now in the process of "eliminating" them to a more manageable level.
44 posted on 04/23/2003 11:12:20 AM PDT by mabelkitty
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To: riri; vetvetdoug; CathyRyan; Mother Abigail; Dog Gone; Petronski; per loin; flutters; ...
The common ancestor of the SARS E2 spike protein also gave rise to the rat sialodacryoadenitis coronavirus spike protein. It would appear that SARS E2 spike protein and the avian infectious bronchitis viruses and feline infectious peritonitis virus and canine cornavirus as well as the porcine respiratory virus were derived from a common ancestor.

So will that mean SARS will behave similarly to these other diseases? Feline infectious peritonitis and rat sialodacryoadenitis have some very troubling characteristics.

45 posted on 04/23/2003 11:16:17 AM PDT by aristeides
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To: All
SARS tied to genetic engineering?
46 posted on 04/23/2003 11:18:37 AM PDT by aristeides
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To: Centurion2000
My thoughts exactly. Who would do this to the Chinese?
47 posted on 04/23/2003 11:29:06 AM PDT by dljordan
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To: mikeIII
I was on a flight from Korea to Taiwan and had a Chinese gentleman next to me who insisted on trying to converse with me although he didn't speak a word of Enlish nor I Chinese. This guy chain-smoked and had been eating a TON of garlic! Talk about chemical warfare!
48 posted on 04/23/2003 11:32:21 AM PDT by dljordan
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To: aristeides
The smell alone would keep them from being infected.
49 posted on 04/23/2003 11:33:27 AM PDT by dljordan
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To: dljordan; CathyRyan; Mother Abigail; Dog Gone; Petronski; per loin; riri; flutters; Judith Anne; ...
Aust virologist leads WHO's fight against SARS. Highly informative interview.
50 posted on 04/23/2003 11:46:15 AM PDT by aristeides
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To: aristeides
That looks good. I am going to print it out and read it over lunch.Thanks.
51 posted on 04/23/2003 11:49:25 AM PDT by riri
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To: dljordan
Yes - I've done that stretch, and know what you mean! could never get used to the aromas of Kimchee in Korea or fried tofu in the night markets of Taipei!
52 posted on 04/23/2003 11:51:34 AM PDT by mikeIII
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To: CathyRyan
There WAS a case reported yesterday of a bride in India at a wedding party coming down with Sars and the whole wedding part has been quarantined.
53 posted on 04/23/2003 11:51:41 AM PDT by NorseWood
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To: mabelkitty
Also, your Toronto has the highest Asian population in the whole Continent outside of New York City.

That's right, Toronto has a massive China town. The hilarious part is, they're all complaining that Canadians are being racist by not going to their mall, but the truth is, the majority of people that congregate at that mall are Asians anyway, so how that translates to us (white Canadians) being racist is beyond me.

54 posted on 04/23/2003 11:53:52 AM PDT by IvanT
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To: aristeides; All
Who would do this?

They have already told us.

Remember the listing of Bin Laden of his wants and needs?

The Islamic fundamentalists want all non-Muslims dead.

They want to destroy certain economic entities.

They have destroyed the airline and travel industries.

They are imbedded in the biotech and healthcare industries around the world and right here in America.

Every clue I find leads me to the perps,Islamic terrorists.
55 posted on 04/23/2003 11:57:31 AM PDT by Betty Jo
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To: Betty Jo
So if I convert to Islam, I won't have to worry about contracting SARS? ;)
56 posted on 04/23/2003 12:00:19 PM PDT by IvanT
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To: All
FOX right now.Breaking SARS news.College
57 posted on 04/23/2003 12:00:37 PM PDT by Betty Jo
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To: Centurion2000
I guess it could be but could it also be that in India there is a milder strain of the same virus and they have become immune? Sort of how Cowpox antibodies were found to protect from Smallpox?
58 posted on 04/23/2003 12:07:47 PM PDT by tiki
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To: VeganFreeper
I know that most in the US who have contracted SARS did so from contact while traveling to infected areas but does anyone know whether most, some or any were Chinese or Asian?
59 posted on 04/23/2003 12:10:07 PM PDT by tiki
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To: Betty Jo
???? Don't leave us hanging.
60 posted on 04/23/2003 12:12:07 PM PDT by Dog Gone
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