<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.

<a href=www.canada.com>The Canadian Press Canadian Press Tuesday, April 01, 2003

(AP) - The disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, continues to make headlines. Here are answers to some concerns about it.

Q. What are the symptoms?

A. It usually begins with a fever of more than 38 C, sometimes with chills and headache and body aches. After two to seven days, patients may develop a cough. Other symptoms can include shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing and pneumonia.

Q. Who's most at risk of getting SARS?

A. Travellers to or residents of certain parts of Asia, and people who've had direct close contact with an infected person, like health care workers and those sharing a household with a SARS patient.

Q. What should I do if I think I have SARS?

A. If you have a fever of more than 38 C and develop a cough or difficulty breathing, contact a health care provider. Explain any recent travel to regions where SARS has been reported and whether you were in close contact with someone who had these symptoms.

Q. How does SARS spread?

A. The germ apparently travels on the tiny droplets of fluid that an infected person spews out when coughing or sneezing. Experts say they're concerned about the possibility that it might also travel more broadly through the air.

Q. What can I do to avoid SARS?

A. Health Canada says people should defer travel to China, including Hong Kong; Singapore; Taiwan; and Hanoi.

Q. Can I catch the germ from an infected passenger in an airplane?

A. There have been a few reports suggesting that. The World Health Organization says that doesn't necessarily mean the germ spreads through recirculated air, however. To reduce the international spread of SARS, WHO is urging officials to screen international airline passengers departing from Toronto, Singapore, Hanoi and several Chinese cities for possible SARS and ask those who appear sick to delay their trip until they feel better.

Q. Is there a cure?

A. None has been identified yet.

Q. What caused those clusters of cases in the Hong Kong hotel and apartment building?

A. It's not yet clear how the germ was transmitted in those cases. Scientists believe SARS is caused by a type of coronavirus, the virus family that causes the common cold. Other coronaviruses can survive up to three hours outside the body. So it's possible that if an infected person coughed droplets onto a door handle or some other object that a second person later touched, that second person might become infected.

On the Web: Health Canada: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html WHO information: www.who.int/csr/sars/en CDC information: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/SARS

All Africa South African Press Association (Johannesburg) April 1, 2003 Posted to the web April 1, 2003

Nelspruit

A man is in isolation in the Nelspruit Medi-Clinic with symptoms of malaria or possibly the feared Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

The man, who looked to be in his 40s, was transported from Maputo, Mozambique, by ambulance to the clinic on Monday night, clinic spokeswoman Robyn Freathy said on Tuesday.

He had recently travelled to Hong Kong. She said the man could also be a malaria patient.

"After receiving a call yesterday from the Medical Director of SOS International requesting permission to receive a patient who was seen by a doctor in Maputo with possible symptoms of SARS, Nelspruit Medi-Clinic has taken all necessary precautionary measures in its isolation and hospitalisation process of the patient," Freathy said in a statement.

The man would remain in isolation until the outcome of tests already conducted was known.

"In the interim, the admission of this isolated patient has been reported by Nelspruit Medi-Clinic to the Department of Health."

SARS is a type of atypical pneumonia caused by a new virus from the family of coronaviruses, which also causes the common cold.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said evidence was mounting that the virus was the primary causative agent, but experts say much laboratory work still needed to be done to pinpoint its exact characteristics.

Development of a vaccine will take years.

According to the World Health Organisation the disease originated in China's southern province of Guangdong before spreading to Hong Kong, from where it was then carried to Vietnam, Singapore, and Canada.

Cases later surfaced in other places including the United States, France, Britain, Taiwan and Germany.

Hong Kong and WHO scientists believe the strain likely originated from animals although it does not appear anything like any known human or animal viruses.

Health experts in Hong Kong have ruled out any association with influenza A and B viruses, and also the H5N1 bird-flu virus which jumped the species barrier and killed six people in the territory in 1997, and a man in February.

The WHO says the main symptoms are high fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties. Changes in chest X-rays, which are indicative of pneumonia, also occur.

Other symptoms include chills, headaches, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, malaise, confusion, rash and diarrhoea.

Health experts say the disease has an incubation period of between two and seven days. The mortality rate appears to be between three and five percent.