ITV 17.02PM BST, 31 Mar 2003   Dozens of health workers in full surgical gear stood guard at the entrance of the apartment block to stop any residents from leaving

Almost 100 people in one Hong Kong apartment block have been infected by a deadly pneumonia virus.

Authorities quarantined more than 200 people in one block of the Amoy Gardens housing complex in an effort to contain the virus, which has killed nearly 60 people worldwide and spread alarm across Asia.

About 210 of the 620 people infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong live in Amoy Gardens and 150 of them are from Block E of the complex.

A further 92 people have now reported infected in the block, located in the midst of the teeming Kowloon district of the territory, one of the most densely-populated areas in the world.

"We are now examining all possible angles, to see if it is airborne or in the (building's) water mains," a government spokeswoman said.

Dozens of health workers in full surgical gear stood guard at the entrance of the apartment block to stop any residents from leaving as policemen in masks cordoned off the area.

But residents said many families had already fled.

Elsewhere, the city's largest bank, HSBC, ordered about 50 of its headquarters staff to stay home for seven days as a precautionary move after a teller fell ill, and activated a back-up dealing room to run until the end of the crisis.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore have closed all schools in a bid to contain the disease and quarantined those who have been exposed.

Besides these two cities, deaths have also been reported from Vietnam, Canada and from China, where the disease was believed to have originated in November.

A doctor from the World Health Organisation, who was infected in Vietnam after he had identified the virus, died in a Bangkok hospital at the weekend, the latest victim.

The disease has also triggered tighter screenings at many airports and a growing number of countries have advised citizens against unnecessary travel to the worst-affected areas.

From the Science & Technology Desk Published 4/1/2003 7:42 PM <a href=www.upi.com>UPI

ATLANTA, April 1 (UPI) -- Reports on the mystery illness dubbed severe acute respiratory syndrome continued to stream in from different corners of the world Tuesday.

In the United States, the number of suspected cases has reached 72, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, although so far there have been no deaths attributed to the disease.

"We knew it was coming," said Katy Hoskins, CDC spokeswoman, who also explained why no deaths have been reported in the United States: Because they had a heads up, U.S. health officials could take preventive action quickly, she said.

The estimated number does not include three airline passengers at a California hospital under evaluation. About 200 passengers on an airliner that landed in San Jose, Calif., were prohibited temporarily from getting off the plane when the pilot was told a few passengers and crew members were exhibiting symptoms similar to those associated with SARS.

The three people on board who were ill were taken to a local hospital, a California Health Department spokeswoman told United Press International.

California has one of the highest numbers of U.S. suspected cases -- 20, including three people who fell ill after household members returned from travel in southeast Asia, the spokeswoman said. The other 17 had been to Asia, where the vast majority of cases has been reported.

Additional suspected SARS cases in the United States were reported Tuesday in Vermont, Massachusetts, Washington, North Carolina and Colorado.

Globally, the World Health Organization reported cases have topped 1,800 among 17 countries. The number of people who have died has risen to 62, or 3.4 percent of suspected cases. These figures do not include new cases being reported by local media in Indonesia and the Philippines, where three and 31 cases, respectively, are suspected. In addition, CNN reported Tuesday two more deaths in Canada possibly associated with SARS.

According to other reports from around the world:

-- On Monday, more than 240 residents of an apartment complex in Hong Kong were evacuated to vacation camps in the countryside for isolation to try to minimize transmission. Hong Kong's health department is requiring the residents of Block E of Amoy Gardens to be quarantined for 10 days. WHO reported 107 of the residents lived in apartments, one atop the other, suggesting a possible pattern of transmission not seen in other affected areas.

-- The New Zealand Herald reported health authorities were "considering asking tour groups from countries affected by the deadly pneumonia virus SARS to postpone traveling here."

-- The Bangkok Post reported the following mandate issued by the Public Health Ministry: "All travelers returning from Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan must stay home for at least 14 days or face legal action."

-- The Straits Times in Singapore reported a possible source of the SARS virus: "'WHO is working on a theory that the virus has its source in farm animals in southern China,' a source from the Geneva-based body told (Agence France-Presse) in Manila."

The CDC is about 90 percent sure the virus responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome is a new strain of coronavirus, Hoskins told UPI.

This possible isolation of the cause of SARS could lead to better methods of identification and treatment of the virus that has prompted travel advisories, a global health alert and jitters about a sometimes fatal disease.

The key to containing the disease will be physician vigilance and high-level compliance with health guidelines, said Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

However, Dr. Susan McLellan, infectious disease and tropical medicine expert at Tulane University in New Orleans, told UPI a real problem might arise if the disease starts spreading in poor countries such as India and regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

Unlike the United States, Canada and other wealthy countries, nonindustrialized nations have poor reporting systems, she said, and the virus will be difficult to contain.

(Reported by Christine Suh, UPI Science News, and Liz Carver in Washington)

<a href=iol.co.za>IOL March 31 2003 at 10:52AM

Hong Kong - Authorities on Monday took drastic new measures to combat a killer form of pneumonia as nearly 100 more cases were reported in the territory amid growing disruption to travel and business across Asia.

The increasingly fraught battle to contain severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) came as United States authorities warned that the virus could be more contagious than first thought and advised against travel to parts of Asia.

The mysterious illness has now infected more than 1 600 people in 15 countries and killed at least 59 people. It erupted in southern China, spread to Hong Kong and has been taken worldwide by airline passengers.

The Hong Kong authorities on Monday isolated an entire housing block for 10 days in an attempt to control the epidemic after 213 people on the estate were found to be infected - a rise of 92 overnight.

No hypothesis has been ruled outThe virus has now killed 13 people and infected another 630 in the city, and Health Secretary Yeoh Eng-kiong said the Amoy Gardens estate was put in isolation because the authorities were alarmed by the "huge increase" in cases.

Yeoh said no hypothesis has been ruled out in the battle against SARS, raising the possibility of a newly-mutated form of the virus that could undergo airborne transmission or survive extended periods of time on open surfaces.

Over the weekend the US Centre for Disease Control said the virus could move freely through the air and contaminate an object for as long as three hours. It also warned US citizens to avoid travelling to affected areas.

During the isolation period at Amoy Gardens, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the estate without express permission in writing from a health officer.

Medical personnel will visit residents, who will be given three meals a day free of charge as well as help and advice on how to clean and disinfect their homes.

More than 160 public housing estates have been cleansedA quarantine law invoked by Hong Kong's chief executive Tung Chee-hwa last Thursday as part of tougher measures to contain the respiratory illness - which included the closure of all schools until April 6 - took effect on Monday.

The SARS outbreak is causing growing unease in the former British colony, emptying restaurants and shopping malls, and forcing most residents to wear face masks in public.

The authorities have been disinfecting streets, public facilities. More than 160 public housing estates have been cleansed as part of efforts to combat the spread of the virus.

The outbreak is also starting to impact on airlines across Asia who have begun cancelling or rearranging schedules as demand for tickets to affected areas such as mainland China, Hong Kong and Vietnam plunges.

Meanwhile health officials in Canada's largest province, Ontario, on Sunday confirmed a fourth victim of SARS, which was brought into the country by a traveller returning from a family visit to Hong Kong.

In Singapore, the ministry of health announced the island state's third death from SARS on Sunday.

The latest deaths bring the worldwide toll from SARS to 59, with 34 deaths in China, 13 in Hong Kong, four in Vietnam, four in Canada, three in Singapore and one in Thailand, according to an AFP tally.

Fears of further transmission of the disease to Taiwan on Sunday prompted Taipei to propose cancelling a fledgling scheme that allows semi-direct links with rival China.

Direct links between the two, severed after a 1949 Chinese civil war, were restored on a limited basis in 2000 via intermediary islands. - Sapa-AFP

La Nacion

BILBAO, HONG KONG, BRUSELAS.- Un ciudadano español de 31 años permanece ingresado en un hospital de Bilbao, en el norte de España, con un posible caso de Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo Severo (SARS), más conocido como neumonía atípica, cuyo origen está localizado en China, informaron fuentes oficiales.

El paciente, que evoluciona satisfactoriamente, había viajado recientemente a China y Hong Kong y a su regreso comenzó a presentar los síntomas de la enfermedad.

El ciudadano español, que está siendo atendido "según los protocolos de tratamiento", evoluciona "satisfactoriamente al tratamiento sintomático y se encuentra en buen estado".

Mientras tanto, en Hong Kong la neumonía atípica provocó dos nuevas muertes y las autoridades tomaron medidas draconianas para intentar poner un freno a la epidemia.

La capacidad hospitalaria de Hong Kong está siendo puesta a prueba por el flujo de enfermos y el número de miembros del personal médico víctimas del contagio. Todas las piscinas fueron cerradas y un conjunto de residencias de Kowloon fue colocado en cuarentena durante 10 días luego de que se detectaron 64 casos suplementarios en las últimas 24 horas.

En Boulder, Estados Unidos, las autoridades investigan cuatro posibles casos del misterioso virus, dijo el médico Kenneth Gershman, del Departamento de Salud y Medio Ambiente de Colorado, a la televisora KCNC, de Denver. En Bruselas, un militar belga fue ingresado ayer en un hospital de Lieja con los síntomas de la neumonía atípica, según indicó un vocero del Ministerio de Salud. El militar, que regresó a Bélgica hace seis días desde Hanoi, presenta el cuadro que la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) identifica con la enfermedad: fiebre, deficiencias respiratorias y haber tenido contacto con una persona afectada en una región endémica.

April 01, 2003 By TOM COHEN ASSOCIATED PRESS TORONTO (AP) -

A mystery illness from Asia with no known treatment has claimed its fifth and sixth victims in Canada, health officials said Tuesday.

Canada's health minister also acknowledged that little was known about severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, but said proper steps have been taken to control its spread.

All the SARS-related deaths in Canada have occurred in Toronto, the nation's largest city. The majority of the nation's 129 probable or suspected cases have occurred here.

The illness was brought to Canada by air travelers from Asia. Its initial symptoms include fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.

SARS has killed more than 60 people worldwide and sickened more than 1,600, with the majority of cases in Hong Kong and China.

Health Minister Anne McLellan said information cards and questionnaires have been given to international travelers at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, but interviewing the 36,000 international travelers using the airport each day would be unworkable and unnecessary.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien called the SARS outbreak "a very serious problem" but added, "We should not panic. We hope it is confined, but you never really know."

In Ontario, the nation's most populous province, authorities have declared a health emergency and restricted access to all hospitals, where staff and visitors must wear masks and other protective garb.

Anyone with symptoms, anyone who has been in contact with SARS patients or anyone who visited two hospitals where the illness first turned up have been asked to quarantine themselves at home for 10 days.

Federal health officials say more than 100 probable or suspected cases are in Ontario, with others reported in Vancouver and the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.