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Actualitzada el 03/04/2003 a les 23:54(CET)

Ha salido de la nada; mata a menos del 10% de los afectados, y apenas conocemos qué la causa. La misteriosa y grave neumonía detectada en Hong Kong, Vietnam y China se contagia con relativa facilidad con la cercanía a personas afectadas, cursa con fiebre intensa y dolores articulares (como una gripe) y causa una severa inundación de los pulmones con fluido (neumonía) que exige cuidado hospitalario. Poco más se sabe de ella, excepto que la cifra total de víctimas mortales por el virus asciende ya a 75 y los infectados son 2.300 en todo el mundo.

Hasta hace poco se desconocía su agente causante, que ha resultado ser un virus. Se conoce por SRAS: Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo Severo. Y debe preocupar, pero dentro de un orden.

El Ministerio de Sanidad explica en su página web todo lo referente a esta enfermedad y la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ofrece día a día la actualidad en torno a esta enfermedad.

¿Debo alarmarme?

Sólo si se dan varios factores al mismo tiempo: la presencia de fiebre alta (>38ºC) con problemas respiratorios como tos, disnea o dificultad respiratoria son la primera pista. Pero estos síntomas son comunes a muchas enfermedades respiratorias leves como catarros o gripes; la sospecha de SARS tan sólo procede en el caso de personas que o bien han tenido contacto con un diagnosticado de SARS, o bien acaban de regresar de las zonas afectadas (China, Indonesia, Filipinas, Singapur, Tailandia y Vietnam). Todos los casos registrados fuera de esas áreas (Canadá, Suiza, Alemania) afectan a  personas que acaban de regresar de Asia.

Si cumple estos requisitos póngase en contacto con el 112, donde le informarán del centro médico al que debe dirigirse.

El contagio parece depender de gotas en suspensión, como las que se forman al toser o estornudar los pacientes, por lo que pueden tomarse las precauciones lógicas para evitar contagios respiratorios. El Ministerio de Sanidad recomienda posponer los viajes a las áreas afectadas (especialmente Hong Kong y Hanoi, en China), cuando sea posible.

• Página sobre SRAS del Ministerio de Sanidad español
• Notas de prensa del Ministerio de Sanidad español

Noticias relacionadas:

• La nueva neumonía se ha extendido ya por 16 países. -Otros cuatro muertos por neumonía. -Peor que el ébola. -Un muerto y 60 nuevos casos de neumonía atípica al día. -La neumonía atípica se dispara en Asia. -Detectado el primer caso de neumonía atípica en Francia. -Ya son diez las víctimas por neumonía atípica en Hong Kong. -Identificado el virus que causa la nueva neumonía. -Posible caso en Badajoz de la nueva neumonía. -Sanidad alerta a los aeropuertos de la nueva neumonía atípica. -Un brote de neumonía atípica de origen asiático alarma a Europa y EE UU.

Washington Times EDITORIAL • March 30, 2003

     It starts with what seems the most inconsequential of actions — a sniff, a stifled cough, a sneeze. It is only afterward — a few days or a few weeks — that the event is seen in a far more sinister light, as the start of an epidemic, the emergence of a new disease.      Such diseases, whether Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus encephalitis or even AIDS, pose a chronic, costly public-health threat that must be constantly monitored — particularly given the threat posed by bioterrorism. As it stands, the cost of infectious diseases is staggering. In the United States, the direct and indirect costs from infectious disease are estimated at more than $120 billion per year. Across the globe, these diseases kill more than 13 million individuals each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).      A rogue's laboratory is only one place from which agents of infection can emerge. So-called superbugs, resistant to several kinds of antibiotics, can emerge as a consequence of evolution coupled with the use of antibiotics. Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is one example. Diseases can emerge as zoonoses — animal diseases that cross to humans. Perhaps the best-known example is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). They can emerge as new forms of known pathogens, as in the case of influenza, the virus that causes the flu. The agent(s) responsible for SARS are apparently new members of known viral families.      Other ailments are certain to follow SARS. Several factors have increased the incidence and spread of emergent diseases, including the acceleration of urbanization; the movement of humans into new habitats; the wide use of antibiotics; changes in social and behavioral patterns; and globalization, according to a recent Rand Institute study, "The Global Threat of New and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: Reconciling U.S. National Security and Public Health Policy." Thanks to the modern speed of travel, emergent diseases can cross continents and oceans in a matter of hours, this helps explain why, on Thursday, WHO urged airlines to screen passengers for the deadly flulike SARS.      Yet, there is always a lag between the discovery of a new disease and the identification of the agent that causes it. For many diseases, there's even a longer lag between the identification the disease and the discovery of an effective treatment or cure. Treatments for AIDS are still being worked on, the reservoir of the Ebola virus has still not been determined and the anthrax mailer is still at large.      Constant, active surveillance is critical in this regard. However, the United States has a long way to go. The Rand study pointed out that state disease reporting to the CDC is done on a voluntary basis, and that, as a result, 90 percent of U.S. states and territories reported just 60 percent of 19 notifiable diseases in 1999. Rand authors also suggest that coordination and information sharing among public-health authorities continue to be improved.      Information sharing is also critical to controlling emerging diseases. While the CDC and the WHO have done an exemplary job during the SARS outbreak, the Chinese government has much to answer for — literally. It took Beijing nearly four months to formally request help from WHO. Twice it has turned away WHO investigation teams attempting to visit Guangdong Province, where the virus reportedly originated. It has yet to reveal everything it knows about the outbreak.      Accordingly, the U.S. government must begin to prepare for the next outbreak by developing more antivirals and antimicrobials, among other measures. Unfortunately, "•nly four large pharmaceutical companies with antibiotic research programs remained in existence in 2002 and not one new class of antibiotics is in advanced development," according to a recent study from the National Academy of Sciences.      Vaccination programs, including the lagging smallpox program, should also be advanced and the timelines accelerated so that those in the public who wish to volunteer for such inoculations are able to receive them.      Ultimately, diseases are no more likely to stop emerging than individuals are to stop sneezing. SARS is a portent of others. Even though the war in Iraq is still raging and the epidemic of SARS is still burning, the government should continue to prepare for the next emerging disease.

Canada NewsWire

TORONTO, March 30 /CNW/ - The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) has cancelled all elective surgery and outpatient clinic appointments until Monday, April 14. Parents will be contacted if their child should come into the hospital for an urgent appointment. HSC's Emergency Department remains open and inpatient care and emergency surgery continue to be provided. For regular updates, parents should call the HSC Family Information Line at   (416) 813-7700.
HSC is asking that all regular staff come to work as scheduled but that volunteers and students not come to the hospital during this period. All meetings and conferences scheduled to take place in the hospital have been cancelled until April 14. To reduce risk to patients and families during the SARS outbreak, HSC is now permitting only one parent or guardian at a time be allowed to visit a patient in the hospital.
HSC is taking all of these necessary precautions in order to prevent transmission of SARS among staff and patients. HSC requests that those who must come to the hospital follow these guidelines:
-   Anyone entering the hospital will be screened by HSC staff.
-   No visitors will be allowed except for a parent of a patient. Siblings and other children will not be allowed entry into the hospital.
-   Anyone with respiratory symptoms will not be allowed into the hospital, with the exception of children who need medical evaluation.
-   Surgical masks will be provided to parents entering the hospital and must be worn at all times.
-   If you suspect that your child been exposed to SARS, please do not come to HSC's Emergency department. Instead, please call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. Symptoms to look for in children include a rapid onset of fever greater than 38 C, one or more respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

For further information: Lisa Lipkin, Public Affairs, The Hospital for Sick Children, (416) 813-6380, lisa.lipkin@sickkids.ca

<a href=www.abs-cbnnews.com>Reuters/abs-cbnNEWS.com HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported a sharp rise in pneumonia virus cases on Sunday, more than half of them in a single apartment building, as Thailand and Singapore stepped up curbs on air travelers.

Singapore's health ministry said from Monday, nurses will be mobilized to meet all incoming flights from affected areas, to check ill passengers.

"Based on the latest information, this disease is more infectious than we thought," Singapore's Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang told reporters.

Hong Kong Health Secretary Yeoh Eng-kiong told local television on Sunday that infections leapt by 60 to 530 in the crowded city and that one more person had died of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), taking the toll to 13.

"The numbers will go up for one or two weeks," the minister added, a prediction that will fuel the fears of the city's seven million residents as officials try to rein in a disease that has killed 58 people across the world and infected 1,612.

Scores of cases from one Hong Kong apartment block have raised fears the virus could be airborne rather than spread by droplets from sneezing or coughing as previously thought.

At Amoy Gardens in urban Kowloon, the number of residents infected has soared from seven mid-week to 121 on Sunday, baffling health officials.

Panic-stricken residents, wearing face masks and gloves, moved out of the estate, and shops and restaurants were deserted or shut.

"I'm scared. I'm taking my temperature every day," said one woman resident. "I stayed at home for several days. It's terrifying. I think I'll get it sooner or later."

The government urged the territory's families to clean their homes on Sunday in a bid to contain the spread of SARS. Authorities were disinfecting public parks. Taxi drivers were cleaning their vehicles. Schools were already closed.

Health officials say the virus, identified by Hong Kong scientists as belonging to a family of viruses that cause colds, first surfaced in southern China in November and has since been spread by air travelers around the world.

Worst hit have been China, with 34 dead and more than 800 infected, and Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Taiwan and Thailand. North America and Europe have also reported infections.

Singapore has closed all schools and placed more than 1,500 people under house quarantine.

Hong Kong authorities said they were urgently tracing 222 passengers and 15 crew members on last Wednesday's Dragonair flight KA 901 from Beijing after one passenger was found to have caught the disease and was now in hospital.

Thailand said on Sunday it would quarantine for at least 24 hours any incoming travelers suspected to be infected, and issued another travel warning urging Thais to avoid visiting China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam.

Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority ordered all airlines operating at Changi international airport to ask passengers questions recommended by the World Health Organization before allowing them to board flights to the city state.

Canada NewsWire

 - Call Infoline at 1-888-668-4636 for general inquiries about SARS
  - Call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 if you have symptoms

TORONTO, March 30 /CNW/ - Dr. Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Health and Chief Medical Officer of Health, and Dr. James Young, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Security, today announced that a fourth patient death has been linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
"I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the patient's family and friends," said Dr. D'Cunha.
Dr. D'Cunha said that the patient who passed away had a direct connection with the first SARS patient at The Scarborough Hospital, Grace Division.
"In an effort to contain the spread of SARS, we are continuing to focus on the measures we have put in place in health care facilities," said Dr. Young.

These measures include:
-   All GTA and Simcoe County hospitals must take necessary precautions against the possible presence of SARS within the hospital;
-   All GTA and Simcoe County hospitals have access restricted to critically ill patients and necessary staff only;
-   Security personnel and police staff will be available to enforce these precautions;
-   Toronto's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated to assist local and provincial efforts;
-   Additional experts from Health Canada will support with infection control measures;
-   Non-urgent transfers between health care facilities will be suspended; and
-   Long-term-care facilities will follow strict infection control protocols.

"We want to stress that the risk of being infected by SARS remains very low for most Ontarians, provided they are not in one of the risk groups," said Dr. D'Cunha. "Washing your hands is always the best way to prevent infection from any illness."
If you have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with SARS, or have recently travelled to China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and/or Singapore, " You develop a fever (above 38 degrees Celsius) " You develop one or more of the following respiratory symptoms; cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing,
-   You should seek medical attention. Cover your nose and mouth with a clean mask or towel immediately and proceed to your nearest hospital as soon as possible.

Doctors Young and D'Cunha said it is important that people call the most appropriate phone numbers to get the information they need. The numbers include:
-   People who do not have any symptoms but have general queries about SARS can call Ontario's Health Infoline at 1-888-668-4636 for more information or can check the ministry website at: http://www.health.gov.on.ca.
-   People who do not have symptoms but have been to the The Scarborough Hospital, Grace Division between March 16 and today, should call their local public health unit or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 to get further direction.
-   People who do not have symptoms but have been to the York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill between March 16 and March 28, please call York Region Public Health Unit at 1-800-361-5653 to get further direction.
-   People who are in home isolation and have any concerns should phone their local public health unit (check ministry website for telephone numbers).

For some people, a period of isolation may be necessary. People in home isolation who have any concerns should phone their local public health unit. Numbers are available on the health ministry's website or in the phone book.
"It's important to stress that people in home isolation must stay in isolation for a period of 10 days," said Dr. Young. "The province is working with Toronto Emergency Medical Services, Toronto police auxiliary, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army to help those people in isolation at home."
As of today, March 30, 2003, there are approximately 100 probable and suspect cases of SARS in Ontario. There is detailed information on 81 of these cases: 42 are probable and 39 are suspect.
Doctors Young and D'Cunha stressed that efforts to respond to SARS and contain the disease continue around the clock.
"We are taking all necessary measures to contain SARS," said Dr. Young.

This news release is available on our website at: www.health.gov.on.ca

Version française disponible

For further information: Members of the media: Dan Strasbourg, (416) 314-6197, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; Members of the general public: (416) 327-4327, or (800) 268-1154