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<p>CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- One of two patients being monitored in the Triangle for possible exposure to SARS died Friday. Preliminary tests from the Centers for Disease Control were negative. Meanwhile, dozens of people in the Triangle are under quarantine for possible exposure to SARS.</p>

A Toronto teenager developed SARS 12 days after her SARS-infected parent was hospitalized, a finding that suggests the incubation period for the disease may be longer than had been thought. The authors of a new study, published on-line by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, say that, as a result, they quarantined SARS carriers for 14 days, instead of the 10 days now recommended by public officials. "We were most comfortable with 14 days," Monica Avendano, a respirologist at West Park Healthcare Centre, where the patients were treated, said in an interview. "But we're clinicians. We don't want to tell public...

Beijing — A top Chinese health official denied charges that Beijing tried to hide the seriousness of the SARS virus, saying Friday that the government warned about SARS as early as February and early efforts to fight it were slowed by poor information.In an encouraging sign, meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Friday that it will remove Singapore from the list of countries affected by the SARS virus because the city-state had not reported a new case of SARS in 20 days.Gao Qiang, China's executive deputy health minister, waved a copy of the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, which...

BEIJING - Instead of the usual delivery trucks, an ambulance pulled up to a Matsushita factory in Beijing's dusty north and unloaded seven white-coated medics. Their job: to check the quarantine.Two Matsushita factories in Beijing shut down last week, idling nearly 6,000 workers, after Chinese employees fell ill with SARS - the second time the Japanese electronics maker was forced to suspend production.Ricoh Electronic Technology, the Japanese office equipment maker, also had too close a Beijing factory temporarily this month after an employee came down with SARS. U.S. mobile phone maker Motorola briefly closed its Beijing offices after a case...

7 May 2003 Case fatality ratio WHO has today revised its initial estimates of the case fatality ratio of SARS. The revision is based on an analysis of the latest data from Canada, China, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Viet Nam. On the basis of more detailed and complete data, and more reliable methods, WHO now estimates that the case fatality ratio of SARS ranges from 0% to 50% depending on the age group affected, with an overall estimate of case fatality of 14% to 15%. The likelihood of dying from SARS in a given area has been shown...

he death rate from SARS may be significantly higher than health officials had thought, up to 55 percent in people 60 and older, and up to 13.2 percent in younger people, the first major epidemiological study of the disease suggests.Mortality rates are bound to change somewhat as an epidemic continues. But unless the numbers fall drastically, SARS would be among infectious diseases with the highest death rates. Until now, fatality rates reported by the World Health Organization had ranged from 2 percent, when the epidemic was first detected in March, to 7.2 percent.The new findings come from a statistical analysis...

What is SARS? SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The organism concerned primarily attacks the lungs. Victims develop a high fever, headache and dry cough followed by shortness of breath. Approximately 20-25 per cent of patients go on to develop pneumonia and some of those die. You are much more likely to die if you have another medical condition or are over the age of 40. Remarkable progress has being made in the last few weeks by research laboratories worldwide. How can scientists have made so much progress so quickly? Very recent advances in genetics have made it possible...

Just 16 months before SARS hit Toronto, the Ontario government deemed the last of its leading lab scientists redundant and sent them packing as it scoffed at the prospect of any new disease threatening the province. The timing of government layoffs on Oct. 18, 2001, left five top microbiologists in utter disbelief. Walkerton's tainted-water scandal was a fresh memory. Bioterror threats loomed after Sept. 11 and the West Nile virus had made its Ontario debut. But the Ontario government declared at the time that the province no longer needed their scientific expertise, insisting there were no new tests to develop:...

TORONTO - The day after Toronto first learned it was home to a puzzling new virus, a public health nurse walked through the front door of an east-end apartment wearing a pair of goggles, a protective gown and a respirator mask. Two of the tenants, 78-year-old Sui-Chu Kwan, and her son, 43-year-old Chi Kwai Tse, had already fallen victim, and four of their relatives were seriously ill. The strange sickness had generated extensive media coverage, which health officials had hoped would unearth anyone who had knowingly crossed paths with Canada's first casualties of what would come to be called severe...

Q & A: What is this disease and why is it so deadly? By Jeremy Laurance Health Editor 25 April 2003 What is Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome)? A new disease, never seen before in humans. In its early stages it resembles flu and most patients recover. But it can rapidly progress to pneumonia, and in the most serious cases lead to breathing difficulties and death. Why the long name? Severe acute respiratory syndrome is an accurate description of the illness. "Severe" distinguishes it from an ordinary cold or bout of flu, which are mild by comparison. "Acute" means the...

TORONTO - In a frightening new twist, health officials say the SARS virus is able to survive outside the human body -- and pose a danger -- for at least 24 hours, in addition to being spread by face-to-face contact. The tenacity of the mysterious severe acute respiratory syndrome virus may explain a new cluster of infections in Toronto. Hospital workers there have caught the disease despite being protected from head to toe by gowns, gloves, masks and eye shields. "We know that the (precautionary) measures that have been recommended should be adequate to deal with those (patients)," said Dr....

SARS has killed a 14th Canadian and infected a new cluster of Toronto hospital workers even though they were protected from head-to-toe in gowns, gloves, masks and eye shields. The latest cluster has heightened concerns the mysterious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus can be spread via objects, in addition to face-to-face contact, and can remain potent on objects for much longer than previously believed. Also, one expert predicted yesterday that SARS is likely to remain in Canada -- despite the current battle to contain it -- because people will continue to "import" it from lesser developed countries. The latest Canadian...

HK Won't Rule Out Seeking China's Help Against SARS 1 hour, 24 minutes ago Add Science - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's hospital chief said on Monday he would not rule out asking Beijing to send doctors to the territory to help fight a deadly respiratory disease as the number of new infections climbed. Hong Kong said seven more people had died from the disease, the highest number reported in a day since its outbreak erupted early in March. Forty more have been infected, including four health care workers, bringing the...

MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS: SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME What is SARS? SARS is a respiratory illness that has recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. For additional information, check the World Health Organization's (WHO) SARS Web site or visit other pages on CDC's SARS Web site What are the symptoms and signs of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)? The illness usually begins with a fever (measured temperature greater than 100.4°F [>38.0°C]). The fever is sometimes associated with chills or other symptoms, including headache, general feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms at the...

TORONTO (CP) - Emerging data out of China - the apparent birthplace of SARS - suggests the incubation period for the disease is longer than has been believed, a spokesman for the World Health Organization said Sunday. Health authorities in much of the world, including those at the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, have pegged the average incubation period for severe acute respiratory syndrome at two to seven days, with some patients taking as long as 10 to fall sick following exposure. Most infection control measures - including those employed against SARS in Canada - are based on the premise...