April 14, 2003. Copyright, 2003, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Containing the spread of the SARS virus
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, April 14, Graphic News:  More than a month after the World Health Organisation issued its first ever global health alert against SARS, the mystery virus shows no sign of releasing its grip. At the weekend five more deaths from the disease were confirmed in Hong Kong and three in Singapore. Outside Asia, the worst affected country is Canada, where the death toll has reached 13.

The latest fatalities from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome defy efforts by health officials to contain the flu-like disease, which has killed more than 135 people and infected over 3,000 worldwide since it was first detected in the Chinese province of Guangdong in November.

Dr Carlo Urbani, the Italian doctor who first identified the fatal virus, himself became a victim of the disease after treating a patient in a Vietnam hospital. A World Health Organisation specialist, Urbani also worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres, and was president of the organisation when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

News of the latest deaths came as scientists at the Genome Science Centre in British Colombia announced that they have uncovered the genetic code for the virus, which usually affects victims up to 10 days after they have come into contact with a sufferer. The breakthrough has raised hopes that a vaccine may soon be developed to combat SARS, which has been identified as a mutant strain of the corona virus, which normally causes the common cold.

For now, however, health officials are still trying to figure out exactly how SARS is spread. The Amoy Gardens apartment block in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong has become a focus of investigations after more than 300 people in the housing block were infected with the virus, apparently spread through the sewage system. The practice of using ÒnebulizersÓ to deliver medication to patients by spraying them with mist has also been blamed for its rapid passage through several Asian hospitals. 

In many other cases, the culprit is modern long-distance air travel. Scientists believe long-distance travellers are most vulnerable because the disease has more time to circulate in high-pressure cabins on long-haul flights. Cathay Pacific has denied reports that it will be grounding staff as a result of cancelled flights, but the airline has admitted that it is operating at a third of the same capacity as last year.
 
Many countries are still advising their nationals not to travel anywhere in China. The United States has told its diplomats in Hong Kong that it will pick up the tab if they want to return home.

Perhaps inevitably, another casualty of the disease has been ChinaÕs international reputation. Early on in the crisis Beijing was accused of covering up cases of the disease and of not doing enough to prevent it spreading. Premier Wen Jiabao has now promised to Òspeak the truthÓ but WHO officials are worried that China does not have the necessary surveillance systems to keep the virus in check.

And while sufferers in other countries have a good chance of making a full recovery if treated early, this does not appear to be the case in China. Even more worrying is the fact that the country is reporting deaths of ever younger victims who were apparently in good health before contracting the deadly virus.
/ENDS