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Cases pass 6k 400 dead Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030502-061547-8087r http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030502-061547-8087r SARS cases pass 6,000; more than 400 dead By Michael Smith UPI Science News From the Science & Technology Desk Published 5/2/2003 8:13 PM View printer-friendly version TORONTO, May 2 (UPI) -- The number of SARS cases continued to rise Friday, reaching more than 6,000, as a Hong Kong researcher reported that the virus linked to the disease appears to be changing rapidly. The global total of probable and confirmed cases of the pneumonia-like disease reached 6,054, according to the World Health Organization, up 207 since Thursday. The global outbreak has now claimed 417 lives, up 26 from a day earlier. Meanwhile, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong say they have evidence that the so-called "coronavirus" associated with severe atypical respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is mutating rapidly. Pathology professor Dennis Lo said genetic sequences of the virus found in 11 patients showed that there were at least two variants circulating in the region. The coronavirus "is undergoing rapid evolution in our population," Lo said. Whether that's good or bad is an open question, he said: "It can either change it into a more virulent virus (or) on the other hand it can make it into a tamer virus." Microbiologist Don Low of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the leaders of the SARS fight in the Canadian city, said he has seen no evidence that the virus is mutating but wouldn't be surprised if it was. "It's an RNA virus, so it doesn't have a repair system," he told United Press International. That means that errors that creep in as the virus multiplies aren't corrected and thus are passed on to new generations. But Low said, usually those errors are "bad for the organism," making it less able to survive and perhaps less dangerous to humans. He cautioned that even if the virus changes so that it causes less severe disease, that might not be a good thing -- people might not get sick enough to go to a hospital and therefore would spread SARS more easily. Toronto officials criticized U.S. news reports that suggested Canada had delayed reporting a case of SARS in order to help its case that the WHO warning against travelling to Toronto should be lifted, which happened earlier this week. "It's total, utter, and complete nonsense," said Colin D'Cuhna, the chief medical officer for the Canadian province of Ontario. Toronto is the capital of Ontario. D'Cuhna told UPI that Canada has reported all of its probable cases -- those in which there's X-ray evidence of SARS infection -- as soon as possible and didn't hide anything from the world body. In fact, he said, WHO officials were in Canada this week for an international meeting on the progress of the SARS battle and made no complaints about how the Canadians had handled their outbreak. Toronto, said D'Cuhna, is "on the cusp" of defeating the disease and being taken off the WHO list of affected areas, which currently includes China, Canada, Taiwan, and 24 other countries. China continues to be the hardest hit, with 176 new probable SARS cases Friday, 96 of them in Beijing. Eleven new deaths were reported, accounting for a cumulative total of 181 deaths. The Chinese government sees no quick end to the outbreak in Beijing, even as officials opened a new hospital -- built in just eight days -- to cope with SARS. The deputy director of the city's health department, Liang Wannian, said similar numbers of new cases -- about 100 a day -- can be expected for the foreseeable future. "I think it will take us a long time to eliminate this disease," he said. But he said the outbreak might be stabilizing and "I believe the number of patients will drop in the future, but it is hard to say when." WHO said China might still not be protecting its health-care workers well enough, suggesting that infection control -- outside of designated SARS hospitals -- is still not effective and "may need to be modified." Among front-line health workers, 15 new cases were reported in Beijing. There are now 300 infected health care workers in China. Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International

china dissent emergency-powers medical panic unitedstates Cases pass 6k 400 dead Cdc warns sars will reemerge { June 18 2003 } Cia predicted outbreak Death rate rising { April 25 2003 } First british case { May 16 2003 } First sars case greece Five patients triggered outbreak Psychotic drug for schitzos used for sars treatment Russia first case sars { May 28 2003 } Sars contagion reached peak Sars death toll 235 { April 22 2003 } Sars death toll tops 630 { May 19 2003 } Sars like illness near vancouver Sars return or lab accident singapore wonders { September 10 2003 } Singapore confirms new case sars { September 9 2003 } Taiwan resistance segregation { May 12 2003 } Toronto 1000 quaratine { May 24 2003 } Two new canada cases { May 1 2003 } Who says sars gone 2 3 weeks { June 27 2003 } World health organization more power { May 18 2003 } Files Listed: 20

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