August 5, 2003 - Here is an article from Reuters/Yahoo explaining that face masks did not prevent the spread of the SARS virus in Hong Kong hospitals. (link is no longer available)
A new study published is the Annals of Internal Medicine (AIM) provides clues for stemming an epidemic, should a potentially fatal respiratory virus strike again. Editorial from AIM.
"An Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome among Hospital Workers in a Community Hospital in Hong Kong" - full-text communication in AIM
Here is an article from HealthDay/Yahoo! about what we have learned from the SARS epidemic. (link is no longer available)
July 25, 2003 - Beta interferon, a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis, may also be effective against the SARS virus. Here is an article from the BBC News.
June 20, 2003 - The worst of the SARS outbreak is over, but what's next?
June 17, 2003 - Last week, a group of patients in a dialysis clinic and residents of two seniors' homes in the Toronto area were placed under investigation when word of a cluster of respiratory ailments surfaced. Yesterday, fears of a SARS outbreak had been all but put to rest. Story from The London Free Press.
"Tests of ill residents have determined that the cause of respiratory illness . . . was not SARS," said Dr. Donna Reynolds, associate medical officer of health for Durham Region.
In addition, while one dialysis patient from Whitby and one health-care worker from Oshawa are still under investigation, all the others have been cleared.
June 13, 2003 - Toronto has been designated an area with "Pattern C" transmission of SARS by the World Health Organization. Officials are still awaiting results on whether the respiratory illness experienced by a group of dialysis patients is actually SARS. Story from the Toronto Sun.
June 12, 2003 - Almost half of the Canadian dialysis patients in a cluster of 15 potential SARS cases have been cleared of the illness, health officials said yesterday. Story from the Toronto Star.
June 11, 2003 - The possible SARS cluster in a Toronto-area dialysis center has sent 1,000 people into quarantine as investigators probe a respiratory illness among dialysis patients.
Officials are asking anyone who visited Lakeridge Health Whitby or the Lakeridge Health Dialysis satellite clinic in Oshawa between May 22nd and June 9th to put themselves in isolation for 10 days. Story from CTV.ca.
Latest news on the dialysis patients suffering SARS-like symptoms in Whitby, Ontario. Story from The Globe and Mail. An excerpt:
"On a positive note, doctors have determined that three of the Whitby patients had ailments that were not caused by SARS. That cut to 12 the number of cases related to the dialysis clinic, and more cases were expected to be ruled out last night.
"We're continuing to work through the investigation of those patients one by one, looking at their medical course and the laboratory testing and the course of their illness to determine whether they need to remain part of the cluster," said Donald Atkinson, chief of staff at the Lakeridge Health facility, which runs the clinic.
Only one or two of the remaining patients still suspected of having SARS are seriously ill, which would suggest that most do not have the disease, Dr. Atkinson said.
But Lakeridge is also investigating two more recent deaths of older patients in the intensive-care unit of its Oshawa site to determine whether SARS was the killer. "The timing is such that we are being extra cautious," Dr. Atkinson said."
June 10, 2003 - Fifteen dialysis patients and some staff members of the Whitby site of the Lakeridge Health Centre have pneumonia or respiratory symptoms that may be consistent with SARS. Story from the Winnipeg Sun. (link is no longer available)
Due to the importance of this story, several updates are likely today. This link will bring up the latest news stories on dialysis and SARS (Google search).
Here is a 2:54 am update on the 15 potential SARS cases seen at a dialysis clinic in Whitby, Ontario (suburb of Toronto). Story from The Globe and Mail.
June 9, 2003 - Public health officials in Ontario were trying to determine Monday whether there's a new outbreak of SARS, after reports that some dialysis patients are suffering from pneumonia. Story from CBC News.
A Toronto nurse "assigned" to a SARS team against her will says she's prepared to quit her job to avoid risking her life. "No job is worth losing my life over," Lucia Smith said. "And I have a family to think about." Story from the Toronto Sun.
June 2, 2003 - A top Canadian health official has warned people that they might have to be "chained to a bed" if they violate the strict Sars quarantine rules in Toronto. Story from the BBC.
A seventh front-line Hong Kong health care worker died of SARS, it was announced yesterday, and Canadian nurses accused hospital officials of ignoring warnings of Toronto's latest outbreak, which claimed another victim. Story from The Boston Globe. (link is no longer available)
"Life 'Surreal' for Nurse Under SARS Quarantine" - article from HealthScoutNews/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
May 29, 2003 - Authorities seeking to control the spread of a new cluster of SARS cases have quarantined more than 5,000 people in Toronto and warned that the number of suspected cases will likely rise. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reinstated a travel alert for Toronto, Canada, because of reports of new possible cases of SARS. Press release from the CDC.
May 26, 2003 - Canadian health officials have appealed to hundreds of health workers in Toronto to voluntarily put themselves into quarantine because of a possible resurgence of Sars. Story from the BBC.
May 19, 2003 - Latest information on SARS from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
CDC Web Cast Public Health Community Preparedness for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Tuesday, May 20, 2003 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/webcast/sarsIII/
Long before SARS became a household word and a worldwide worry, the U.S. health system has tackled contagious diseases with success. But if the new respiratory disease gets out of hand, experts say, the nation's resources may be overwhelmed. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The Sars crisis has deepened in Taiwan, where health officials have reported a record number of new cases for the second day in a row. Story from the BBC.
May 16, 2003 - The World Health Organization (WHO) called for the screening of blood and organ donors for possible SARS infection even though there were no known cases of such transmission so far. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available) Related press release from the WHO.
China has threatened to execute or jail for life anyone who breaks Sars quarantine orders and spreads the virus intentionally. Story from the BBC.
May 15, 2003 - Dialysis patients in Singapore who have been quarantined due to SARS are now being treated in a new, separate dialysis center and are being transported in special ambulances. Story from The Straits Times. (link is no longer available)
A suspected new outbreak of Sars at a mental health hospital in Singapore has undermined hopes that the illness is being contained there. Story from the BBC.
Today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has two full-text articles on SARS:
May 9, 2003 - Health care workers who develop a fever or respiratory symptoms within 10 days of caring for or being exposed to a SARS patient should not report for duty, but should stay home and report symptoms to the appropriate point-of-contact at their facility, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An updated version of the "Interim Domestic Guidance for Management of Exposures to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) for Health-Care Settings" is available from the CDC.
As a result of emergency room overcrowding and shortages in laboratory personnel, other staff and equipment, many U.S. hospitals are unprepared to handle an outbreak of an infectious disease such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, according to a General Accounting Office report. News summary from Kaiser Network.
SARS Roundup: May 8, 2003 - article from HealthScoutNews/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
May 8, 2003 - The death rate from SARS could be as high as 55 percent among people over 60 years old and 13 percent in those under 60. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
May 7, 2003 - The first detailed study of the spread of the Sars virus in Hong Kong has discovered that the death rate among sufferers was much higher than previously estimated. Story from the BBC.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is providing the full text of an early release publication on the SARS outbreak in Toronto:
"Clinical Features and Short-term Outcomes of 144 Patients With SARS in the Greater Toronto Area" - full-text article from JAMA
May 1, 2003 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the case definition for SARS.
Health officials in Hong Kong are investigating 12 cases of SARS patients who suffered a relapse after recovering from the disease as concerns grow that the virus could be re-transmitted. Story from channelnewsasia.com.
April 30, 2003 - Several updates regarding severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS):
Beijing's acting mayor says hospitals are unable to cope with the high numbers of patients suffering from SARS. Story from the BBC.
Interim Guidance on Infection Control Precautions for Patients with Suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Close Contacts in Households - guidance from the CDC
April 28, 2003 - Exhausted health workers on the front line of Toronto's battle against SARS must also cope with the frightening knowledge that they are most at risk, and there is no fail-proof way to protect them. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Vietnam has successfully contained its outbreak of Sars - the first country to do so. Story from the BBC.
The World Health Organization has issued this update on infection control for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
April 24, 2003 - China has sealed off a major hospital in the capital, Beijing, as it announced four more deaths from the Sars virus. Story from the BBC.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has added Toronto, Beijing, and the Shanxi province of China to the list of regions travelers should avoid to reduce the risk of becoming infected with SARS. Story from WebMD.
April 23, 2003 - The virus thought to cause Sars is constantly changing form, say scientists - which will make developing a vaccine difficult. Story from the BBC.
The CDC has issued a new travel alert for travelers to Toronto, which is the epicenter of the Canadian outbreak of SARS that has infected 139 people and caused 13 deaths in that country. Story from WebMD.
The authorities in Beijing have said that all the capital's schools will be closed for two weeks in an effort to halt the spread of the Sars virus. Story from the BBC.
April 22, 2003 - A health-care worker who is probably infected with the SARS virus could have put hundreds of people at risk after he refused to obey a voluntary quarantine request and became "obnoxious" and "threatening," Ontario health officials said on Monday. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Cumulative Number of Reported Probable Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - April 21 data from WHO (World Health Organization).
April 21, 2003 - U.S. office-based physicians are being urged to take 10 seconds to help stop a pandemic and protect themselves, their co-workers and patients from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Story from American Medical News.
Infection control experts are debating whether "superspreaders" are something special to SARS. Story from CNN.com. (link is no longer available)
The World Health Organization says there has been another sudden jump in officially reported cases of Sars infections in China. Story from the BBC.
The mayor of Beijing was fired following the disclosure of a tenfold increase in SARS cases in China's capital and charges he mishandled the outbreak of the deadly illness. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
April 20, 2003 - China reported a marked increase in SARS deaths and cases, saying that 12 more people have died and that the number of infections in Beijing has soared to 339 � a near tenfold increase. The new numbers raised China's total number of deaths to 79 and its cases to 1,807. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
April 19, 2003 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an update on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Update from the CDC/MMWR.
April 18, 2003 - The SARS outbreak at the lower middle class Amoy Gardens housing estate in Hong Kong started when an index patient, a 33-year-old man with renal disease, visited his brother in Block E on March 14 and 19. The spread of the virus has been traced to the bathrooms and sewage system of the building. Story from Singapore Straits. (link is no longer available)
The United States changed the way it classifies patients with the SARS this week, dropping the number of probable cases from 208 to 35. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has issued an industry guidance on blood products safety and SARS for immediate implementation:
"Recommendations for the Assessment of Donor Suitability and Blood Product Safety in Cases of Suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Exposure to SARS" - FDA Final Guidance
After weeks of speculation, a new form of a coronavirus never before seen in humans has been confirmed as the cause of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). The World Health Organization (WHO) made the formal announcement today after scientists completed experiments that replicated SARS in monkeys infected with the coronavirus. Story from WebMD.
A cluster of SARS patients in Hong Kong with unusual symptoms has prompted concern that the virus causing the disease is mutating. Doctors fear the changes are making the disease more severe. Story from New Scientist.
April 16, 2003 - More people have died of a deadly flu-like illness Sars in Hong Kong in the last 24 hours than on any day since the outbreak started. Story from the BBC.
Japan has so far been free of the deadly flu-like SARS virus -- something experts put down largely to pure luck and partly to hand-washing. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
April 15, 2003 - On April 14, the CDC held a Telebriefing Update on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
"How One Person Can Fuel an Epidemic" - NY Times article (registration required)
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in China was "grave" � a departure from earlier assurances that the illness was under control in the nation where it is suspected to have emerged. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
A Hong Kong lawmaker on Monday criticized the government for allowing the transfer of an American SARS patient who had been treated across the border in mainland China but was dead on arrival at a hospital here. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 11 issued updated guidance for pre-hospital emergency medical care and ground transport of patients suspected of having severe acute respiratory syndrome.
April 12, 2003 - This report from the CDC updates information on U.S. residents with SARS and summarizes the clinical histories of the five U.S. residents identified as of April 9, 2003, who have both suspected SARS and laboratory evidence of infection with a novel coronavirus.
CDC Chief Dr. Julie Gerberding said a suspected SARS virus patient who became ill after traveling to Asia may have infected a co-worker in Florida, a development that makes her "very concerned." Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Two people in China's remote northern region of Inner Mongolia have died from the mystery Sars illness, reinforcing fears about the spread of the disease. Story from the BBC.
An international airline is contacting some of its recent passengers after a man who made seven flights in less than a week was diagnosed on Thursday with the deadly Sars virus. Story from the BBC.
April 11, 2003 - The latest news on SARS:
Investigators are nearly certain that a previously unknown form of a coronavirus is the major cause of SARS (sudden acute respiratory syndrome), and new research rushed for release today backs up their argument with near conclusive scientific evidence. Story from WebMD.
"Concern About Spread of SARS Growing at CDC" - story from Reuters/Yahoo (link is no longer available)
"Possible Workplace Spread of SARS Eyed" - story from AP/Yahoo (link is no longer available)
April 10, 2003 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is probably here to stay, health experts said this week. Story from Reuters/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Scientists will test at least 2,000 drugs against the SARS virus. Scientists are almost positive SARS is caused by a newly discovered member of the coronavirus family. Until now, these bugs have been known only to trigger colds or mild diarrhea, so no one has ever tried very hard to find a treatment. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
April 9, 2003 - The latest news articles on SARS:
The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article by the physicians who are treating the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong.
"A Major Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong" - abstract
A total of about 25 doctors and staff at Sault Area Hospital (Canada) have been quarantined after exposure to a patient with "respiratory symptoms." Story from The Sault Star.
Singapore Woman Linked to 100 SARS Cases - story from AP/Yahoo (link is no longer available)
No Sign of SARS Letup in Hong Kong - story from AP/Yahoo (link is no longer available)
SARS Doctors Treated Like Heroes in China - story from AP/Yahoo (link is no longer available)
April 8, 2003 - Experts have a new theory on how the Sars illness raced through an entire apartment block in Hong Kong. They believe that cockroaches may have carried the infection from flat to flat. Story from the BBC.
Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday. Overview from Cybercast News Service.
April 7, 2003 - Singapore's nurses, a multinational force of frontline troops in the battle to contain the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, are quickly becoming social outcasts. They are shunned in trains, some have been asked by their landlords to pack up, taxi drivers speed past them and others are told by apartment neighbors to avoid taking the elevator. Story from inq7.net.
China disclosed that people had died of a mysterious illness in more of its provinces than previously reported, while experts in the south were looking into whether the disease came from animals on farms or in the wild. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
A World Health Organization (WHO) official said that the key to controlling the fast-spreading respiratory illness could lie in identifying highly infectious people. They are most interested in "the phenomenon of `super spreaders' -- people who seem to spread their disease to a lot of other people," said the WHO team leader, Dr. Robert Breiman. Story from AP/Boston Globe. (link is no longer available)
April 5, 2003 - As of Friday, 115 suspected cases of SARS are under investigation in the United States and 2,353 cases and 84 deaths have been reported worldwide.
Federal health officials now have the power to quarantine Americans who contract SARS, but they say they have no immediate plans to use it. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Here is the executive order adding SARS to the list of communicable diseases for which a quarantine can be declared.
Fear of the SARS virus is becoming a more dangerous epidemic in Hong Kong than the disease itself, commentators and academics warned Friday. Story from NurseWeek.com. (link is no longer available)
April 4, 2003 - The virus causing a global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is likely to be a new hybrid that mutated in the intensively farmed livestock of China's Guangdong province. The earliest SARS patients had been in close and continued contact with chickens, ducks, pigeons and owls. Story from New Scientist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will broadcast a SARS prevention and treatment training program today:
Preventing the Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Public Health Training Network Satellite Broadcast & Webcast April 4, 2003 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET ~ Rebroadcast http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/sars/
There is an MMWR update to its Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) report.
As of April 2, CDC had received 100 reports of suspected SARS cases from 28 states; 81 (81%) cases occurred among adults. Of these 100 suspected cases, 94 (94%) persons had traveled within the 10 days before illness onset to the areas listed in the case definition (revised on March 29 to include all of mainland China as an area with documented or suspected community transmission), four had household contact with a person with suspected SARS, and two were health-care workers (HCWs) who provided medical care to a patient with suspected SARS.
April 3, 2003 - Dr Julie Geberding, a director of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said today that a massive scientific drive to beat the illness may be too late to prevent a major outbreak across every continent of the world. Story from the BBC.
The key question is whether the disease can be contained, which is still uncertain. If people are seriously ill before they infect others, then sick people can be quarantined. The problem comes if people are harbouring and transmitting the disease while still feeling healthy. Story from New Scientist/EurekAlert.
The CDC yesterday reported 85 suspected U.S. cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 27 states.
The CDC also released a Fact Sheet of information about SARS.
At least four countries - including the U.S. and Britain - are warning their citizens against travel to Canada because of the growing number of suspected cases of SARS. Story from the Edmonton Sun. (link is no longer available)
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended yesterday that travelers postpone all but essential trips to Hong Kong and to adjoining Guangdong Province in southern China because of the risk that they may contract a new respiratory disease. This is the first time in the agency's 55-year history that it has issued a global alert against travel to a specific region or country because of an infectious disease. Press release from the WHO.
The Sudbury Regional Hospital in Ontario, Canada has taken new measures to prevent the spread of "super-pneumonia," better known as SARS. They have cut back all non-essential services, but are maintaining emergency services, chemotherapy, radiation and dialysis treatments. Story from the Sudbury Star.
The New England Journal of Medicine has provided an early on-line release of two articles and one editorial on Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Health officials say they are now dealing not with one outbreak of the mysterious illness known as SARS (sudden acute respiratory syndrome) but a group of different outbreaks spread across 13 countries. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) says SARS is now contained or well under control in Vietnam, Singapore, and Toronto, the spread of the disease in Hong Kong is growing at a disturbing speed. Story from WebMD.
Dialysis units continue to function at the Canadian hospitals closed by SARS. Dialysis patients and staff would appear to be among the most vulnerable to a widespread outbreak of SARS. This article provides details on how one Canadian hospital is dealing with this public health problem.
April 1, 2003 - The World Health Organization on March 31 reported a total of 1,622 suspected SARS cases and 58 deaths. The deadly pneumonia, which is spreading across the world, could be more contagious than previously thought, an expert has warned. Story from the BBC.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced several resources for SARS prevention and treatment:
Preventing the Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Public Health Training Network Satellite Broadcast & Webcast April 4, 2003 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET ~ Rebroadcast http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/sars/
Ontario nurses accused health officials today of failing to adequately shield front-line workers against SARS, saying the disease's spread has nurses extremely worried about the health of their patients, the community at large and their own safety. Story from the Toronto Star.
March 31, 2003 - Health officials closed a second Toronto-area hospital to new patients and asked hundreds of its employees to quarantine themselves as a deadly flu-like illness continued to spread worldwide. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Hong Kong health officials have ordered the residents of an apartment building to be quarantined for 10 days in an effort to control a deadly new virus. Story from the BBC.
March 29, 2003 - Italian Dr. Carlo Urbani, 46, a WHO expert who first identified the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), died in Thailand where he had been receiving treatment after becoming infected while working in Vietnam, the U.N. agency said. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
March 28, 2003 - MMWR Update: Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) --- Worldwide, 2003
March 27, 2003 - The number of suspected cases of the mysterious pneumonia called SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) nearly tripled today, as international officials finally included almost 800 cases reported in China where the outbreak is believed to have originated. The World Health Organization (WHO) now estimates that 1,323 people have been infected with SARS worldwide, including 49 who died. Story from WebMD.
March 26, 2003 - An illness consistent with the SARS infection is causing widespread panic in Asia and may have killed as many as 34 in China, including the first deaths in the capital Beijing. Story from the BBC.
March 24, 2003 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that a previously unrecognized virus from the coronavirus family is the leading hypothesis for the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Two coronaviruses that are known to infect humans cause one third of common colds and are also a common cause of health care-associated upper respiratory infections in premature infants. Press release from the CDC.
March 22, 2003 - CDC Information - Update: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Interim Case Definition
March 21, 2003 - MMWR Dispatch - Preliminary Clinical Description of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
CDC Information - Interim Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines for Handling and Processing Specimens Associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
March 20, 2003 - The outbreak of a virulent form of pneumonia which is claiming lives around the world has been traced to a Hong Kong hotel. Story from the BBC.
The mystery illness that has killed at least 14 people around the world has apparently hit the United States, with health officials investigating 11 suspected cases � all involving people who have recently traveled to Asia. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
Latest information from the CDC:
"Updated Interim Domestic Infection Control Guidance in the Health Care and Community Setting for Patients with Suspected SARS" - CDC Guidance
March 19, 2003 - The researchers have identified the mystery respiratory illness at the heart of a global health scare as a virus from the paramyxoviridae family, which are responsible for conditions such as mumps and measles. Story from the BBC.
The disease, first described as a new form of pneumonia, has sickened 219 people worldwide in the past few weeks. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
March 18, 2003 - Suspected cases of a flu-like illness have appeared in five countries for the first time, but there were no new fatalities since the nine reported when the World Health Organization issued its unusual global alert over the weekend. Medical experts said Monday that there "should not be panic" because the spread is not as aggressive as most forms of influenza. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The CDC has opened an information page on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
March 17, 2003 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Health Alert about Atypical Pneumonia/Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases being seen around the world. Press release from the CDC.
Health authorities around the world are struggling to contain a mystery virus amid fears that it could be as lethal as the 1918 flu pandemic. Story from the BBC.
Health experts say the culprit is probably a virus and they are encouraged that some victims appear to be getting better. Story from AP/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a travel advisory for visitors to Canada, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, **********s, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Press release from the WHO.
[This message has been edited by Gary Peterson (edited 09-15-2003).]
