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Scott StinsonNational Post, with files from The Canadian Press and CanWest News Service

Monday, March 24, 2003

TORONTO - Two additional people in Ontario are suspected of having severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), bringing to 17 the number of Canadians with the deadly pneumonia strain, amid new fears 12 more people may have it.

Dr. Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's Public Health Commissioner, yesterday said one of the two new cases is categorized as probable and the other is listed as suspected.

Announcing the latest cases at a news conference yesterday, Dr. D'Cunha said the emergency ward at a Toronto hospital has been closed to allow medical staff to provide an "appropriate level of care to their patients."

A number of patients suspected of having the mysterious disease remain at Scarborough Hospital's Grace division. The first people in Ontario to be diagnosed with SARS were treated at the hospital, and most of those who contracted the illness are their relatives.

Dr. Allison McGeer, head of infection control for Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, said the initial patient at the Scarborough hospital was "not managed in appropriate isolation precautions," since medical staff did not know SARS was involved. She said the clampdown at the hospital is necessary to prevent its further spread.

"All of the rest of us in the city are depending on them to get us the data on how transmissible this is, who is at risk, what the problems are," Dr. McGeer said.
Health officials also disclosed that public health staff are monitoring a cluster of 12 people who are showing systems of the disease. A spokesman at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care would not confirm yesterday if the 12 are at the Scarborough hospital, citing patient confidentiality.

Dr. McGeer said hospitals throughout the city are holding several people in voluntary isolation, since the disease is highly contagious.

"The physicians who are seeing them are triaging them carefully to determine whether there is any risk that they might have SARS because we know that SARS is contagious," she said.

Yesterday's developments came after health officials confirmed on Saturday that a third Toronto resident died from the pneumonia strain. The man, believed to be in his 70s, died on Friday night. Officials said he contracted the disease after sharing a hospital room with the city's initial SARS patient.

Sui-Chu Kwan, 78, died on March 5, and her son, Chi Kwai Tse, 44, died on March 13.

Officials believe Ms. Kwan and her husband contracted the disease while staying at a hotel in Hong Kong in February. A professor from mainland China -- where an outbreak of an unidentified illness occurred in February -- was staying on their floor and likely passed the disease onto them and other hotel guests.

In addition to the 10 probable cases and four suspected cases in Ontario, a Vancouver man remains in critical condition due to the illness and two Alberta residents are considered suspected cases.

Probable cases are people showing symptoms who have recently travelled to Asia or have been in close contact with other SARS patients. Suspect cases show symptoms, but have no travel or contact history.