Time to go rent the movie "Outbreak" with Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Get a little taste of what is going down in the Middle Kingdom over Sarsmania.

Sars and rumors of Sars

I don't think we have a clue about how many cases are in rural China. A vast disaster in the making, I think. India is also ripe for being hit hard as are Africa (as usual) and South America. In short, a disaster for the overpopulated countries who outbreed their ability to provide any decent medical care for themselves.

I don't think we have a clue about how many cases are in rural China.

I don't think China has a clue either and doesn't know how to handle this at all

Time to go rent the movie "Outbreak"...

You mean I have to worry about this disease and watch a bad movie too.

Think I saw it years ago.

The virus is no longer merely a respiratory virus. It used to be -- hence the name: "SARS."

It was respiratory two weeks ago ... now it causes immediate degeneration of the lymph system, kidneys, spleen, liver and intestines. The victims die from a total breakdown of their immune system and drown in blood from lungs that are infested with huge rotting holes.

The virus is mutating rapidly, and there will be no quick cure because it is different today than it was yesterday. Doctors do not even agree on what type of virus is causing the problem. They have identified 9 different types of coronavirus DNA in this coronavirus. But the virus also has traits like measels and mumps which a totally another type of virus.

News was out just a few days ago: "SARS DNA decoded." But the virus has changed and is changing even now. Maybe we will all get lucky and the virus will mutate into a harmless coronavirus that is deadly only to camels. That would be just fine with me.

Hope it is loose in Iran right now killing all their camels.

Given the crowded living conditions and poor sanitary practices in China, my worry is that SARS is going to end up causing a couple of million deaths just in China alone. This really reflects extremely badly on the Chinese government, to say the least.

Where was the first outbreak of the disease, and was there only one origin or were there several?

I don't think we have a clue about how many cases are in rural China.

I don't think China has a clue either and doesn't know how to handle this at all

The only thing China is really good at is controlling dissent by killing protestors, imposing fear upon the population and using police-state tactics. By comparision, medicine is not one of their strongest suits.

Oh well. If it ravages China I guess we can expect some disruption to all the Wal-Mart goods. And if it runs through India, maybe all those CEO's pushing "outsourcing" will find they screwed up. On the other hand, SARS might burn out.

OK...from all the thread about SARS, and upon researching this myself...I can only come up with the following conclusions (speculative of course):

1) The U.S. health care system can deal with, and treat Americans who come down with this disease effectively with minimal loss of life

2) Asian people seem to be less immune from this disease than Americans; more Asians are catching it and dying from it. This may have to do with the quality of health care or immune differences across races OR a combination of both (its a stretch I know)

3) China has "accidently" created and proliforated this virus as a means of subtle population control.

Perhaps ... perhaps.

The virus is still mutating. If a huge epidemic begins in Tortonto we will soon know the truth.

By the way, the you see that baseball teams are up in arms about going to Toronto to play? The Mayor of Toronto is upset because of SARS effect on the baseball season. One Scenenario: So the teams are forced to play in Toronto in front of empty seats and then contract the disease ... and take it home to their own cities.

Mutation may make it very difficult or impossible to develop a vaccine, but that still leaves the possibility of an antiviral: First drug to be ready 'within months' .

The only thing China is really good at is controlling dissent by killing protestors

That seems to be ending now. SARS is Red China's Chernobyl.

If I were a baseball player, I would refuse to play in Toronto, and take the consequences.

Hope it is loose in Iran right now killing all their camels.

First positive thought I've had about SARS.

There is evidence that this disease jumped the animal-human boundry. In rural China, people are fond of keeping ducks, chickens and pigs near their homes and its quite possible that the disease has been incubating in the animal population, without regard to the number of nearby people.