News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The Ministry of Health of China on Friday, Dec 26, told the World Health Organization (WHO) of a suspected case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), according to a WHO update. The patient, a 32-year-old freelance television worker from the Panyu District of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, experienced fever and headache Dec 16 and sought medical help on the 20th.

(CIDRAP News) – A Taiwanese scientist has contracted SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), probably while studying the SARS coronavirus in a laboratory, the Taiwan Department of Health reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese investigators have found that animal traders in Guangdong Province were more likely to carry an antibody to the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) coronavirus than other local groups were, supporting the belief that the virus might have come from animals.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese scientists found that animals sold at street markets in Guangdong, China, carried a coronavirus nearly identical to the SARS coronavirus, according to a report published recently in Science.

(CIDRAP News) – A recent US intelligence report envisions three possible scenarios for a return of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) this winter, ranging from small outbreaks in a few countries to a repeat of the widespread outbreaks that occurred last winter and spring.

Aug 15 (CIDRAP News) – Two more deaths from SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) occurred this week in Toronto, one of them in a heathcare worker. That brings the total number of deaths in Canada to 44. Eight people remain hospitalized with the illness in Toronto.

(CIDRAP NEWS) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has, as of Jul 11,  lifted its SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) travel alert for Beijing, China. Beijing was dropped from the list after 30 days—three times the incubation period—had elapsed since the onset of symptoms for the last reported case. Taiwan is now the only area on the CDC's SARS travel alert list. 

(CIDRAP News) – SARS is no longer spreading in Taiwan and therefore appears to be contained worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Jul 5.

The last probable SARS case in Taiwan and, for now, the world, was detected and isolated Jun 15, WHO officials said. After 20 days with no new cases in Taiwan, the WHO determined that the country was free of recent local transmission.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today removed Toronto from the list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), leaving Taiwan as the only place where the disease is not officially contained.

Toronto had a 4-month, two stage SARS outbreak that was the largest outside Asia, with almost 250 probable cases and at least 38 deaths. The city thought it had beaten the disease once before.

(CIDRAP News) – A Taiwanese man who was thought to have the first case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in Japan does not have the disease after all, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

Japanese health officials told the WHO that laboratory testing showed the man has influenza B, according to a WHO statement. The 33-year-old man arrived in Tokyo Jun 21 and experienced a high fever and other symptoms 2 days later.