Serum helps treat Hong Kong's SARS patients

<a href=iol.co.za>IOL March 31 2003 at 03:31PM By Tan Ee Lyn

Hong Kong - Doctors in Hong Kong have successfully treated some of the people suffering from the killer pneumonia virus sweeping across the continent by using serum taken from patients who have recovered, a health expert said on Monday.

This means that victims have been able to produce antibodies - found in serum - to fight the killer virus. Some experts had earlier feared that this would not happen as the body could not easily develop antibodies to fight a new virus.

The disease, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), began in southern China in November and later spread to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Germany, the United States, Germany and Taiwan.

Experts have said it could have originated from animalsIt has killed 61 people and infected over 1 600 worldwide.

"Facts have proven that in at least 20 of our patients who went through very smooth recovery, their serum has been used to treat very severe sufferers and that has been very successful," said Leung Ping-chung, a professor and surgeon at the Prince of Wales Hospital where the outbreak of the pneumonia virus in Hong Kong was first concentrated.

"The serum of at least 20 patients has been life-saving in the past two weeks for those who were severely ill."

Leung said the presence of antibodies means those who have recovered would have developed some level of immunity against the virus.

Doctors have identified the virus as a new strain from the family of coronaviruses, which causes the common cold. But they are trying to further understand its behaviour and characteristics.

'It will be very stupid not to protect yourself'Experts believe it could have originated from animals, adding that it could take years to develop a cure and a vaccine.

Apart from using serum from recovered patients, doctors in Hong Kong have been using a cocktail of anti-virals and steroids, which they say have been effective for many patients.

Although previous evidence has pointed to a transmission by droplets - through coughing and sneezing - a new wave of infections involving people living in a single residential block has led experts to question if the virus may be airborne or waterborne.

Of the over 600 people infected in Hong Kong, 213 are from a housing estate and of these, 107 are from a single block.

"The drainage may not be good and it may have regurgitated some of the contaminated sputum," Leung said.

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

But whether the virus is spread through droplets or airborne, Leung and other experts in the territory have strongly recommended the use of protection masks, even though no one can ever guarantee they are foolproof.

"Even droplets can pierce through masks. Nothing can ever be foolproof. But given the situation, it will be very stupid not to protect yourself," he said.

Millions of people in Hong Kong are now using masks in public transport and congested areas to protect themselves.