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LOS ANGELES -- Hacking and gasping, Irma Ortiz could cart her groceries only so far before she'd catch other shoppers glaring at her. Mortified, she'd abandon her cart on the spot and bolt for the door. Frank Herrera could gun his dirt bike only so far before choking on the rush of air. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Exasperated, he gave up riding. Ortiz, 44, and Herrera, 34, are odd candidates for lung transplants, being nonsmokers and having considerable youth on their side. How they lost 70 to 80 percent of their breathing capacity is no less astonishing. They acquired the...

NEW YORK -- A 41-year-old paramedic who worked at a morgue for months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center was buried Monday after dying of an asbestos-related cancer. Deborah Reeve, a 17-year paramedic, died on March 15 of mesothelioma, a lung cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, her family said. Reeve developed a cough in late 2003 and retired at the end of 2004 after becoming too ill to work. Her doctors and family say her cancer was caused by exposure to toxic dust from the World Trade Center site. City health officials say it's...

Researchers at The University of Manchester funded by the Fungal Research Trust have discovered millions of fungal spores right under our noses - in our pillows. Aspergillus fumigatus, the species most commonly found in the pillows, is most likely to cause disease; and the resulting condition Aspergillosis has become the leading infectious cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients. Fungi also exacerbate asthma in adults. The researchers dissected both feather and synthetic samples and identified several thousand spores of fungus per gram of used pillow - more than a million spores per pillow. Fungal contamination of bedding...

News-Medical.Net Hong Kong hospital activates infectious disease procedures Posted By: News-Medical in Disease/Infection Published: Tuesday, 16-Nov-2004 The Caritas Medical Centre situated in Shamshuipo, Hong Kong has activated infectious disease procedures following the admission of four more children with respiratory illness symptoms. This brings the total number of cases at the hospital to 28. The Hospital Authority Chief Executive Dr William Ho said a series of new measures will be taken at the hospital immediately. They include: refusing any new child patients and transferring new cases to Princess Margaret Hospital; transferring infected patients to an isolation ward; disinfecting the premises thoroughly;...

BISMARCK - North Dakota health officials are checking for the state's possible first case of SARS, which is suspected in a Cass County woman who visited the Toronto airport in early May. The state Health Department described the person only as a Cass County resident in his or her 20s. The presence of the respiratory illness will take about three weeks to confirm, said Larry Shireley, a state disease specialist. Health officials declined to specify the person's gender, but Shireley, during a conference call with reporters Friday and a separate interview afterward, inadvertently referred to the person as "she." New...

A Hong Kong researcher says a wild animal considered a dining delicacy is the carrier of a virus that causes SARS. The finding fits earlier speculation that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome originated in wild animals. Hong Kong University revealed Friday that the civet cat, a wild animal indigenous to southern China, is the likely source of the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Dr. K.Y. Yuen said researchers at the Shenzhen Center of Disease Control found four strains of the virus in a large percentage of civet cats. "From a special type of civet cat, we are able...

INFORMATION LINKS:United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention World Health Organization (WHO) International Society for Infectious Diseases (ProMed)SARS Info Centerper loin’s Charts and Graphs FREE REPUBLIC THREADS: November 10, 2001 1. Colorado Governor Orders Post Office Shut Down After Employee Hospitalized for PneumoniaNovember 21, 2001 2. Odd Pneumonia in SverdlovskFebruary 12, 2003 3. Fear spreads in China over mystery lung virus March 10 – 16 4. Precognition (Mother Abigail) 5. First Known Case of Atypical Pneumonia in Europe Quarantined in Frankfurt (with 155 passengers) 6. UN Warns of Worldwide Threat from Killer Pneumonia 7. UN warns of worldwide threat...

INFORMATION LINKS – SARS:United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention World Health Organization (WHO) SARS Info Center International Society for Infectious Diseases (ProMed)per loin’s Charts and Graphs FREE REPUBLIC THREADS: November 10, 2001 1. Colorado Governor Orders Post Office Shut Down After Employee Hospitalized for PneumoniaNovember 21, 2001 2. Odd Pneumonia in SverdlovskFebruary 12, 2003 3. Fear spreads in China over mystery lung virus March 10 – 16 4. Precognition (Mother Abigail) 5. First Known Case of Atypical Pneumonia in Europe Quarantined in Frankfurt (with 155 passengers) 6. UN Warns of Worldwide Threat from Killer Pneumonia 7. UN warns...

2003-11 March 30, 2003 5:00 pm Advisory Update #15 - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome As of March 30, 2003, Health Canada has received reports of approximately 98 probable or suspect cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick. There have been four deaths in Canada. All Canadian cases have occurred in persons who have traveled to Asia or had contact with SARS cases in the household or in a health-care setting. The information contained in this update is based on the best available information Health Canada has at this time. 2003-11 March 29,...

<p>ATLANTA — Federal health officials said Sunday they are analyzing samples from a mysterious pneumonia-like illness that has afflicted more than 150 people in seven countries and caused nine deaths.</p> <p>They are also handing out information cards to travelers from countries where the disease has appeared, asking them to see a doctor if they experience symptoms such as high fever or respiratory problems.</p>