- TORONTO (Canadian Press)
-- Autopsies on 19 patients who died during the SARS outbreak in Toronto
last year found the SARS coronavirus was present in the lungs of all of
them, according to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
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- The virus was detected in 73 per cent of the bowel samples
examined, 41 per of liver samples and 38 per cent of kidney samples.
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- "People that died of SARS continued to have virus
in their lungs as long as 51 days after the onset of illness," co-author
Dr. Kevin Kain, director of the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health
in Toronto, said in an interview Monday.
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- "That is quite unusual for a viral infection. Usually,
they come, they make you sick, they often clear. You may go on and die,
but the virus is usually long gone. The virus is still there in these people.
It likely is playing a direct role in their illness."
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- Autopsies were performed on 21 of the 44 people who died
after severe acute respiratory syndrome hit the city in the spring of 2003.
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- "Nineteen of those 21 had died less than 51 days
(after onset of disease)," said Dr. Kain. "All 19 people that
died within 51 days had virus in their lung, often at very high viral load."
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- He said the higher the viral load in a person, the more
likely they were to progress to death and have the virus in other organs
in the body.
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- The findings are significant because they show there
was a risk the virus could be transmitted to caregivers even weeks and
months after the onset of illness, Dr. Kain noted. As well, those handling
the patient after death and conducting post mortems would need to be protected
from possible infection.
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- Dr. Kain said the finding that the SARS coronavirus was
in the bowel was also noteworthy.
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- "Over 70 per cent had virus identified in their
small intestine and in their large intestine. It helps explain why people
with SARS develop gastero-intestinal symptoms."
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- Again, he indicated it would have been important for
caregivers to be aware of the risks when SARS patients had diarrhea and
similar problems.
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- "That becomes important in terms of transmission,"
he said. "It isn't just respiratory; it could be fecal-oral. There
were issues like this in Hong Kong.
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- Around the globe, there were 8,098 probable SARS cases
diagnosed in 29 countries, the bulk in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada
and Singapore; 774 people died.
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- Dr. Kain said very few autopsies were performed around
the world on SARS patients because "they were so apprehensive about
it."
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- "I think that's a testament to the pathologists
at [Toronto's] University Health Network ... most places didn't do autopsies."
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- © Copyright 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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