-Hello Jeff...

According to the latest report, it does appear that coronavirus, as well as some paramyxovirus, is involved in SARS. As to whether or not it is the infecting agent, well, that is yet not determined. Some scientists believe that the coronavirus may be the etiologic agent causing the disease.

According to the article, some scientists believe that both pathogens are part of the pathogenisis. I believe that, if this is the case, we have a recombinent virus - that should not occur naturally. We have a coronavirus/paramyxovirus joining to form a disease. My best guess is that, a mycoplasma may also be in the mix.

My belief is that the illness has an etiologic agent that has been genetically-altered. Do I believe this is intentional release or terrorism? No. I think that the Chinese had been researching and altering the viruses and it simply got loose from a Guongdong Province lab. This could be the reason that it was first identified in doctors from the province.

I will keep you updated. The following does have some very cogent statements and we need to read the articles very closely.

So, do I think SARS is naturally occurring? NO.

Patricia Doyle

Exerpt:

''The coronavirus is the primary cause of the disease,'' said Malik Peiris, a professor of microbiology, adding that another virus, of the family that causes mumps, may also be involved and increase the severity of the disease. Peiris said the new strain had characteristics unlike any other he had ever seen.

''This is unlike any other human or animal virus ever described before,'' he said, adding that humans may not necessarily develop immunity to such a virus after recovering from an infection.

''If we find they behave like a cold, you can get the same cold again and again,'' Peiris said, warning that transmission of such a virus occurs through droplets and can take place in many common public areas. ''Railings, lift buttons and just about anything touched by a person with an infection can pass on the virus,'' he said.

Date: 27 Mar 2003 06:42 From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org> Source: AFX News - Asia [edited]

HK Researchers Announce Diagnostic Test For SARS And Confirm Virus Source

HONG KONG (AFX) - University of Hong Kong reseachers announced that they have developed a diagnostic test to rapidly identify victims of an atypical pneumonia which has killed some 50 people around the world.

In a statement, the Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong also said it has confirmed previous findings that the global outbreak of atypical pneumonia was caused by the Coronavirus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said earlier this week that the virus causing the global outbreak of atypical pneumonia, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), was from the Coronavirus group.

In their statement, the University of Hong Kong researchers said they have "confirmed that the recent outbreak of pneumonia is caused by the virus known as Coronavirus.

"The discovery of the agent is an important international research breakthrough," they said, adding that the disease should be referred to as Coronavirus Pneumonia, or CVP.

They said the diagnostic test they have developed "will enable early and reliable diagnosies of CVP and hence early treatment of the disease.

"The early phase diagnostic test helps infection control by identifying which contacts have or have not acquired CVP and ensure discharged patients will not infect the community," they added.

The diagnostic test will be available at hospitals here starting tomorrow, the researchers told at a press conference.

Yuen Kwok-yung, head of microbiology at the faculty of medicine, said the virus is mainly transmitted by contact.

"Your hands are the greatest enemy," Yuen said, adding that the virus can only survive in the air for some three hours.

There have been more than 50 deaths and more than 1300 reported cases of SARS worldwide with the majority of the fatalities occurring in China. The disease has claimed 10 lives Hong Kong, 4 in Vietnam and 3 in Canada.

-- ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

****** [2] Date: 27 Mar 2003 From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org> Source: International Herald Tribune 27 Mar 2003 [edited] <http://www.iht.com/articles/91278.html>

HONG KONG The government imposed quarantine measures Thursday to impede the spread of an epidemic of deadly pneumonia as scientists announced a breakthrough in testing patients for the mysterious virus. Hong Kong, the transportation hub from which the disease apparently spread worldwide, announced the immediate quarantine of more than 1000 residents suspected of infection and shut down schools for 1 million students. ''Hong Kong faces an epidemic that the world has never seen before,'' said Tung Chee-hwa, the territory's chief executive. ''This is a very, very serious issue.''

Hong Kong has been battling a wildfire the rapid spread of the disease for 2 weeks. The quarantine announced Friday applies to 1080 people who had close contact with those infected by the disease. Nearly 1000 other people who had social contact with infected patients will undergo surveillance. Penalties for breaking domestic quarantine include a fine of 5000 Hong Kong dollars (about USD 640) , obligatory confinement and 6 months in prison. The Hong Kong measures came a day after Singapore undertook similar moves. Singapore, by contrast, cancelled all schools and instituted draconian quarantine measures shortly after the first sign of infection appeared.

''We are favor of any measure within the law that will contain a disease outbreak,'' said Peter Cordingley, a spokesman for the World Health Organization. ''We don't have any problem with Singapore's approach.''

The most secretive least forthcoming country, however, has been China, which on Wednesday acknowledged the presence of the atypical pneumonia for the first time, announcing the highest number of infected patients and fatalities in the world. The Chinese authorities also said the situation was ''basically under control,'' hoping to avert the panic that took place several months ago over outbreak of pneumonia now thought to be linked to the current crisis.

Popular worries were evident throughout Hong Kong on Thursday as a growing proportion of the public put on face masks while walking in public areas.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong announced successful DNA sequencing of a virus that they say causes the disease. The finding, if confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could allow creation of a rapid diagnostic test and reduce death rates by allowing doctors to identify affected patients sooner.

The illness, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, has killed at least 53 people, mostly in Asia, and infected 1300 in more than a dozen countries. The group of microbiologists from the University of Hong Kong identified the virus as a new strain from the family of coronaviruses, highly contagious viruses that are the second leading cause of colds in humans.

''The coronavirus is the primary cause of the disease,'' said Malik Peiris, a professor of microbiology, adding that another virus, of the family that causes mumps, may also be involved and increase the severity of the disease. Peiris said the new strain had characteristics unlike any other he had ever seen.

''This is unlike any other human or animal virus ever described before,'' he said, adding that humans may not necessarily develop immunity to such a virus after recovering from an infection.

''If we find they behave like a cold, you can get the same cold again and again,'' Peiris said, warning that transmission of such a virus occurs through droplets and can take place in many common public areas. ''Railings, lift buttons and just about anything touched by a person with an infection can pass on the virus,'' he said.

To avoid infection, he warned people to wash their hands frequently, avoid touching the eyes, mouth or nose and wipe down with rubbing alcohol. ''The virus is easily killed with rubbing alcohol,'' Peiris said. ''Wear a mask if you want, but make sure not to touch your face with your hands when adjusting it.''

Peiris said his findings supported the multiple drug treatment with ribavirin and steroids currently administered to patients. The ribavirin suppresses growth of the virus, while the steroids mitigate damage caused by the body's own immune reaction.

[byline: Thomas Crampton]

-- ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

****** [3] Date: 27 Mar 2003 From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org> Source: Reuters 27 Mar 2003 10:50 EST [edited] <http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2459976>

BERLIN (Reuters) - Microbiologist Bernhard Fleischer, head of Hamburg's Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI), said his institute had probably identified the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

"I don't assume that there will be a worldwide epidemic which will spread among the population," Fleischer told Reuters in an interview. "We are lucky that this disease is not as contagious and does not spread as easily as first assumed."

Scientists from the BNI, Germany's top tropical diseases institute, worked on identifying the virus by analyzing tissue samples taken from a doctor from Singapore who was being treated in Frankfurt after showing symptoms of SARS. Fleischer said his institute had developed a test with which experts could detect within one or two hours whether a patient had caught the virus.

A group of microbiologists from the University of Hong Kong said on Thursday they had also identified a virus and believe it is a new strain from the family of coronaviruses, the second-leading cause of colds in humans. The finding is consistent with tests conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronaviruses, so named because they have a crown-like appearance when seen under a microscope, are often responsible for upper respiratory infections in premature infants.

Fleischer said he believed it is spread through droplets by sneezing and coughing and therefore can only be caught through very close contact with an infected person. "I expect it to abate in the next few weeks," he added. Fleischer also said he believed the disease was not very contagious before a patient started to show symptoms, such as high fever and shortness of breath. Other viruses are highly contagious from the moment of infection.

Developing a serum against SARS could take years, Fleischer said, but he added that a new vaccination may not be necessary as known medications against viruses could help to combat it. "It first needs to be examined whether known and existing medication can help," he said. The Hong Kong research team said patients were responding well to a cocktail of anti-viral drugs and steroids.

Fleischer said his institute and U.S. scientists had independently found that the cause of SARS was probably a coronavirus. It had probably been transmitted from animals to human beings, he said. However, other labs that analyzed samples from patients had said they found what looked like a new kind of paramyxovirus, which causes measles and respiratory disease in babies.

[byline: Kerstin Gehmlich]

-- ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

[Hong Kong is the third location with documented local transmission of SARS to implement quarantine measures for known contacts of SARS cases (Singapore and Ontario Canada have implemented similar quarantines). In addition, Hong Kong and Singapore have closed schools in an attempt to reduce situations of close contact that might enhance transmission.

The multiple press releases related to the identification of a coronavirus continue to be promising, (especially if there has been genetic sequencing of the virus), yet again caution needs to be exerted until further confirmation that this agent is in fact the etiologic agent of SARS. (Remembering that last week 3 independent laboratories identified a paramyxovirus from specimens taken from SARS patients). It is also premature to conclude that infection with this agent does not lead to the production of protective antibodies as is suggested in one of the newswires above. There are many questions that remain to be answered before definitive conclusions can be drawn and more detailed specific recommendations can be made. - Mod.MPP]

[Two of the laboratories that originally suggested that SARS was associated with infection by an unspecified paramyxovirus have now come into line with the CDC verdict that the etiologic agent has the characteristics of a member of the genus _Coronavirus_ of the family _Coronaviridae_. A consensus seems to be appearing. Until the full details of the scientific evidence become available, however, the final verdict will remain in doubt in view of the earlier contrary reports from Canada that the recently characterized human metapneumovirus may be the etiologic agent. Some of the information in these press reports, such as the statement that: "The new strain had characteristics unlike any other he (Professor Peiris) had ever seen", are not interpretable at this stage. - Mod.CP]

Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/emergingdiseases/index.shtml Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health