SCI/TECH: SARS Reappears in China, At Least One Death

Almost a year after the disease spread through China and months since the last case, China has reported two new cases of the SARS virus in Beijing and Anhui provinces and two more probable cases.
Five additional people are also showing early signs of the illness.
One woman in Anhui province has died of the disease, Chinese officials now report.
More than 200 people who have been in contact with the victims have been placed under observational medical quarantine.
Chinese hospitals are on alert and preparing wards to care for and quarantine any new cases that emerge.

Sky.com

Some sources are indicating the infection count may be over 100, with possible early fatalities.

The Chinese government has made these new cases public in hopes of preventing another massive outbreak. The 2002/2003 epidemic was initially covered up by the Chinese government, which may have contributed to the rapid spread of the disease.

A study released on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that SARS spread last year in a Hong Kong apartment complex via miniscule water droplets in the air. This further evidence suggests that close contact with a SARS-infected patient is not necessary for transmission.

The current chain of infection is believed to be a result of the virus escaping a research laboratory when a 26 year old medical student, the daughter of the woman who died, returned from her studies there. She had fallen ill and left the lab to be cared for by her mother.

SARS was first identified in November 2002 in the Chinese province of Guanzhong and the virus quickly spread to more than 8,000 people in 31 countries. 774 people died.

Related Stories:
Reuters
BBC

Related ATSNN Stories:
SARS Case in China Found to be Variation of Original
China Admits Another Suspected SARS Case


[Edited on 23-4-2004 by Banshee]

This one has been lurking in the wings for awhile.

Sometime last year I read a report (either by Doctors Without Borders or another medical group) indicating that physicians were concerned because many governments were clamping down on information about certain communicable diseases and this led to dangerous situations. As I recall, the disease in question was ebola and they felt that by pretending there were no cases of ebola, the governments were putting more towns and people at risk.

It's good that China is reporting this, but you also have to wonder how many other cases there are.

NOTE: SARS isn't always fatal; in fact, it has a relatively low mortality rate (around 10-15%, if memory serves.) You can have it and recover from it without treatment. However, it's very serious (it's a pneumonia) and can be fatal for the weak, the young, and the immune-compromised if they don't get good treatment. It's also fairly infectuous.

Whoopie-friggin-doo...the flu kills thousands a year, why is SARS such a big deal all of a sudden?...