Killer Virus (SARS) Identified

ProMed ^ | 03-18-03

[Mother Abigail]

Killer virus identified

A team from the Prince of Wales Hospital and Chinese University of Hong Kong have identified the virus that has caused the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome worldwide, confirming that the current anti-viral treatment applied to patients has been the right choice. Identifying the virus as a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, Professor John Tam of the department of microbiology of the Chinese University said it was detected by electron microscopy. The finding, announced late last night, was further confirmed by a molecular technique that revealed the nucleic acid sequence of the virus.

Asked if the virus was curable, Tam reiterated that the finding last night had indicated that the current treatment applied to patients suffering from the syndrome, more commonly known as atypical pneumonia, had been the right choice. But he added that they still needed to monitor individual patients' reactions before they could conclude that the virus was curable.

Lo Wing-lok, Medical Association president and legislator, said the Paramyxoviridae family incorporated different viruses that could affect humans and, as such, further studies were needed to establish whether it was a new virus. Earlier it was revealed that at least 6 patients were responsible for spreading the pneumonia in Hong Kong. Health chief Yeoh Eng-kiong also said that a mainland professor who died in [Hong Kong] SAR on 4 Mar 2003 was a victim of the atypical pneumonia.

The new information from officials indicated the disease had been more widespread in the SAR than originally believed. Yeoh said the pneumonia and suspected cases had now been isolated into 6 "clusters". Yeoh again stressed the government was not hiding anything. He insisted there was no sign of an outbreak at the community level.

[This is the second identification of a paramyovirus-like organism from a patient with SARS (see ProMED-mail posting Severe acute respiratory syndrome - worldwide (06) 20030318.0677). The first identification was made by investigators in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg from specimens taken from a physician from Singapore who had treated some of the earlier cases seen in Singapore and was admitted to hospital in Frankfurt, Germany en route back to Singapore over the weekend. As mentioned in our earlier posting, it is important to confirm these findings and to identify a similar agent from other cases of SARS before it can be concluded that this agent is the cause of SARS.

That being said, this second identification of a paramxovirus-like organism from patients with SARS offers hope that the etiology of this outbreak may be identified soon. - Mod.MPP]

[CathyRyan]

People are going to start to get scared and that means they are going to want to go home to they home countries. This could get messy. I also worry about this getting into an illegal subculture that is afaid to seek medical help and they try to deal with this on their own.

[cricket]

[The seeker came to the master and asked: "What must I do to be enlightened teacher?" The master responded: "Have you eaten you supper?" The seeker nodded: "Yes" And the good master said: "Go do the dishes" The seeker obediently went and did the dishes, whereupon he became enlightened....]

An enlightened levity bump. . .and Wisdom, well worth repeating here. . .Thanks MA :^)

[Doc Savage]

The worldwide "panic" on this absolutely laughable. First of all, viruses aren't "curable". One can develop a vaccine against a particular virus which may or may not confer a degree of immunity. But you can't "cure" a virus!

Immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, young infants are always at risk. But most young, healthy individuals will recover as they do from many other "serious" viruses.

The media just loves to hype this BS. Ooooooooh, scary!!!

[cricket]

"I believe that it is more virulent than reported. That sneezing and coughing are transmitting the virus in large crowds. Airports, buses, trains, etc..Places where tourist gather. Airline engineer might have been infected in terminal or lounge."

. . .more virulent. . .and more widespread than the cases reported indicate, perhaps.

Have a friend who flies from Europe regularly. . .after arriving home on last trip four weeks ago; she became very ill, with many of the described symptoms. . .high fever, hoarseness (lost her voice)extreme headache, neck pain etc. Her son then became ill. . .both were close to going to hospital, but she insisted trying 'other means' of treatment.

She received medicinals from Germany etc by way of a Doctor who includes 'alternative health therapies'. . .they both recovered after a week or so from extreme symtoms. Her neighbor came down with same and did go to the hospital and was there for a couple of weeks hovering between life and death but did recover. . .

She described this as an 'extreme flu'; also mentioned that the CDC had been apprised and my friend offered, though I do not know if correctly and hence my earlier question. . . that the molecular combination or somesuch. . . was not a naturally occuring combination of viruses. . .

Also, know of a teenager who became ill, thought she had the flu. . .fever, headache. . .sore throat etc. Waited 24 hours; her fever spiked and she died before ambulance arrived. . .final determination of illness has yet been made; the topic of 'mystery illness' came up while talking about this and apparently they are still investigating the possibilities. . .

So I am guessing that this may possibly be 'out there' more than we are considering, in the general population; but then again, maybe not. . .

OK MA, time to take care of those dishes!

[vetvetdoug]

Canine Parvovirus was a mutant of the Feline Distemper Virus which was also a parvovirus, no relation to the Paramyxovirus family. Canine Distemper is a morbillivirus(paramyxovirus). Canine Distemper virus and the Feline Parvovirus are both mutatable. Parvo causes diarrhea, Distemper is a respiratory.

[An.American.Expatriate]

My 2 cents... Europe is experiencing it's "normal" flu season. This year the strain was "extreme". So, your case <> be related, but it may be "normal".

[cricket]

This year the strain was "extreme". So, your case <> be related, but it may be "normal".

. . .you are right of course; and I am inclined to believe just that. . .Still, all this gives one a thoughtful 'pause' so to speak. . .

[null and void]

"normal" bump

[Nebullis]

The (SARS) virus has not been identified in any great detail, but we do know that it is transmitted from human to human, which would indicate it's probably not the Nipah or Henda virus. The Paramyxovirus family is huge. (Horses, not zebras...)

[Mother Abigail]

SARS virus similar to one for measles

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit disclosed that preliminary findings identified the virus causing the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) as being very similar to paramyxovirus, the family of microbes that causes measles, mumps and canine distemper.

Researchers in Hong Kong have also identified a member of the paramyxoviridae family, which includes paramyxovirus, as causing the recent SARS outbreak, according to local media reports Wednesday.

This horse may have a stripe or two

We shall see, my best guesstimate at this time would be a new strain of Henipavirus.

Regards

[Mother Abigail]

PARIS, March 19 (Reuters) - France reported its first suspected case of a deadly strain of pneumonia on Wednesday which is thought to have killed at least 14 people and sparked worldwide alarm.

Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei said in parliament the case had been authenticated, but a health ministry official later clarified that the minister was referring to a suspected case which had yet to be confirmed.

"A case has been authenticated in France and it came from Hanoi," Mattei told parliament during question time. "This shows the situation is not under control yet and we remain on maximum sanitary alert."

French daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday that several patients at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris were thought to have the disease, but a doctor from the hospital's infectious diseases department said this was not true.

"We have no suspected case and no probable case," said Dr Philippe Bossi

[Mother Abigail]

I take your point about human to human transmission.

However remember the Malaysian viral epidemic in 1999, where a Hendra-like virus struck over
200 people.

This transmission was from pigs to humans, where the Hendra-like virus changed its pattern of disease. Affected pigs develop a respiratory illness, while in humans the virus caused encephalitis.

There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission in this outbreak. But the Hendra-like virus had a genetic makeup that was 90% similar to the Hendra
virus.

It would not be out of the realm of possibility for one of these "Hendra-like" mutations to pass from pigs to humans again. With better transmission properties...

South China = pig transmitted bugs
IMHO

Just thinking out loud...

[Mother Abigail]

You can't tell the players without a program...

[Mother Abigail]

Seven victims of mystery pneumonia stayed on same floor of Hong Kong hotel

01:47 PM EST Mar 19

MARGARET WONG

HONG KONG (AP) - Seven people who came down with a mysterious form of pneumonia, including two who have died, spent time on the same floor of a Hong Kong hotel before the outbreak prompted a global alert, officials said Wednesday.
One was a 64-year-old medical professor from Guangzhou, China, who died in Hong Kong on March 4, and one was a 78-year-old woman from Toronto, who died after returning to Canada, according to a Hong Kong government spokeswoman.

The other visitors of the Metropole Hotel who became sick were three Singaporean women, two of them age 23 and one 33; a 72-year-old Canadian man; and a 26-year-old Hong Kong man who had gone to the hotel to see a friend, said Dr. Margaret Chan, director of the Hong Kong Health Department.

The people had no known connection with each other and had apparently visited the Metropole, on Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula, in separate groups or alone, said the government spokeswoman, who agreed to be interviewed only on the condition of anonymity.

They had all been on the hotel's ninth floor between Feb. 12 and March 2, Chan told a news conference.

As many as 11 people are believed to have died worldwide from severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, but the World Health Organization has not yet decided whether to include the Chinese professor and another victim on its official list.

Two people who died in Canada are on the WHO list but it was not immediately clear if the Toronto woman who visited the Metropole was one of them.

None of the 200 to 300 workers at the hotel has become ill and although conditions seem safe there now, the ninth floor has been closed until it is sterilized, Chan said.

WHAT!!!!

Where is that damn roll of Reynolds Wrap

[CathyRyan]

Well somebody say something! So I will stop thinking what I am thinking

[vetvetdoug]

I just make it up as I go along. Don't take me series.

[twntaipan]

But the stories of sales of vinegar and antibiotics in South China were in news reports.

[riri]

Wow.

[Mother Abigail]

Well said...

[meadsjn]

If this is true, it almost rules out the pigs, chickens, cows, and horses.

Since no hotel workers were infected, it must have been introduced into their food or water somehow (9th floor ice machine?)