SARS hits Malaysia; count rises in Hong Kong

etaiwannews.com 2003-04-06 / Associated Press /

Singapore's economic losses for the first month of the outbreak could total an estimated 509 million Singapore dollars (US$286 million) and could hit S$4.1 billion (US$2.3 billion) if the outbreak continues for three months, Standard Chartered Bank economist Joseph Tan was quoted as telling the Straits Times newspaper.

In China's southern Guangdong province, a WHO team met at Zhongshan University where experts have collected hundreds of specimens of blood, lung fluid and other materials from people who died of SARS and those who recovered, team leader Dr. Robert Breiman said.

WHO wants to compare the samples to determine whether those who died were killed by a combination of viruses or bacteria or just one strain, he said.

The meeting came after the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control, Li Liming, offered the world an extraordinary apology for failing to release information sooner about the disease - first detected in China in November.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, hygiene workers in protective suits collected rats and roaches for testing at the Amoy Gardens apartment complex, where at least 250 residents were infected. They hope the pests may hold a clue to how the disease was transmitted.

Agricultural officials also rounded up pets, from dogs to turtles, from the building after a cat was found to carry a type of animal virus called a coronavirus. Experts believe SARS might be a new form of the virus, the South China Morning Post reported.

Fear of infection kept many Hong Kong residents from crossing over to mainland China to sweep their ancestors' graves for the ancient Ching Ming festival.

In Australia, staff of the national airline Qantas were trying to contact 310 passengers who were on flight QF094 from Los Angeles to Melbourne with three children suspected of carrying the disease. The children and their parents flew from their home in Toronto, Canada for a holiday in Melbourne.

Cleaners, maintenance staff, pilots and flight attendants who had contact with the aircraft are also being alerted to watch out for symptoms which include high fever, aches, a dry cough and shortness of breath.

Canada

Canadian health officials on Friday reported just nine more possible cases of SARS, bringing the nationwide total to 187, but cautioned there could be a spike in cases in the coming days.

Canada, which has had seven suspected SARS deaths, has been hit the hardest outside Asia, where the disease is believed to have started last November.

The majority of the cases remain in Canada's largest province, Ontario, where 149 possible SARS cases were tallied, up three from Thursday.

An elderly woman, who traveled to Hong Kong and stayed in the Metropole Hotel, is believed to have brought the disease to Canada's largest city and unknowingly infected others.

Outside Ontario, there are possible SARS cases in the provinces of British Columbia (26, including three probable), Alberta (five), Prince Edward Island (four), New Brunswick (two), and Saskatchewan (one).

New Zealand

Thousands of tertiary students studying in Auckland have been asked by education authorities to reconsider their plans to return home for the Easter break to prevent the deadly atypical pneumonia virus from spreading to New Zealand.

Auckland University of Technology Friday asked students to consider postponing trips home to countries affected by the flu-like virus that has so far killed 83 people and infected more than 2,500 worldwide since showing up in China's southern province of Guangdong late last year, the New Zealand Herald reported yesterday.

More than 80,000 overseas students are enrolled in New Zealand schools and tertiary institutions, with almost half from China and Hong Kong - the countries worst hit by the health crisis.