Jagsbch Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Alert issued as flu fears grow The World Health Organisation has taken the rare step of issuing an emergency travel advisory amid fears that a mystery virus which has infected scores of people in Asia may be spreading. The WHO has so far not advised travellers to avoid any particular destination, but has warned them to watch out for symptoms, including a high fever, difficulty in breathing, and coughing. In the latest development, a doctor from Singapore was taken off an airplane on Saturday and quarantined in a Frankfurt hospital, German health authorities say. Two people travelling with him on the flight from New York to Singapore were also put in quarantine. The WHO says it has received reports of more than 150 suspected new cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during the past week. AFP news agency reports that 40 people have been infected in Vietnam. First victim It is thought the Hanoi outbreak started last month after an American businessman travelling from Shanghai infected hospital workers; he died in Hong Kong. In Canada, a mother and child have reportedly died from the flu, while officials in Singapore report 16 cases. The flu is thought to be highly contagious In Hong Kong, 47 medical workers are thought to have the virus; the Taipei authorities have reported three cases. No figures are available yet from China where it is thought there are many cases. "This syndrome, SARS, is now a worldwide health threat," said WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland. "The world needs to work together to find its cause, cure the sick and stop its spread." The man quarantined in Frankfurt had apparently already exhibited symptoms of the mystery pneumonia while in New York. 'Sent home' While he and two others were taken to hospital, other passengers who got off in Frankfurt were sent home and told to stay there. People continuing their journey to Singapore will be met by health officials there. Singapore and Taiwan have warned their citizens against travelling to the worst affected places - Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. The Thai authorities have also imposed strict procedures to try to guard against the illness, instructing airlines to report immediately if any passengers display symptoms. It is possible the outbreak is linked to a spate of "atypical pneumonia" cases in the southern Guangdong province of China in February, which killed five people and infected hundreds more. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2853185.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Yet another new and deadly emerging disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted March 16, 2003 Share Posted March 16, 2003 This new bug is getting some heavy attention. In Atlanta, the CDC emergency operations center has been activated, and its staff is working round the clock responding to the outbreak. U.S. health officials are in close touch with health officials in China, where cases have been reported at least several weeks back, said Tommy Thompson, U.S. secretary of health and human services. The CDC is also working with foreign laboratories to analyze samples from patients. "We are doing everything humanly possible to learn what is causing this outbreak." said Thompson, speaking to the teleconference from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, before flying to Washington. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--us-pneumonia0315mar15,0,5125768.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire TORONTO (CP) — A severe form of pneumonia which is spreading through Asia has struck Canada, killing a mother and her son in Toronto and hospitalizing four other family members http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/03/15/43929-cp.html GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization warned on Saturday of a worldwide health threat as a mystery killer pneumonia spread from east Asia to other parts of the globe. Releasing a rare "emergency travel advisory," the United Nations health agency said an ill passenger had been taken to an isolation unit in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday after being removed from a plane en route from New York to Singapore. Some 155 other passengers who had been due to change planes or stay in Frankfurt were placed in quarantine there, while the remaining 85 passengers and 20 crew on the Singapore Airlines flight continued their journey, German officials said. http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2385604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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