[pepsionice]

Does everyone notice that one of the folks is a med professor? Kinda makes one wonder what type of projects he was involved in. I bet he was a research type...wanna bet? The rest of these folks are vanella types...but the med guy....he's got a past to him. I bet his lab does unusual type experiments...for the Chinese government. Any bettors out there?

[Mother Abigail]

The paramyxo viruses are a family of germs that cause mumps, measles and various respiratory diseases, especially in children. Hong Kong medical experts said the strain responsible for Sars seemed to be a mutation in an existing paramyxo virus rather than a previously unknown species.

"The behaviour of the virus is very strange," said Yeoh Eng-kiong, Hong Kong's secretary for health, welfare and food. He said the virus caused a severe illness because it triggered a strong response from the immune system.

There are no drugs with specific activity against paramyxo viruses. However K.Y. Yuen, a doctor at the University of Hong Kong, said patients were being treated with broad-spectrum anti-viral drugs such as ribavirin, as well as steroids to counteract the immune system's harmful response to the virus.

Experts at the World Health Organisation who are co-ordinating the global response to Sars, told a press conference on Wednesday that more research was still needed to pin down the precise strain of paramyxo virus responsible for Sars. "It is similar to seeing the shadow of someone you think you know but the face and the details will only become clear with further testing," said David Heymann, WHO head of communicable diseases.

[aristeides]

Given the extent to which medical staff has gotten this disease, the med professor probably caught it treating somebody in Guangdong, where there was an outbreak of the disease in February.