SARS conference

iansmith

Yesterday I was a at special SARS conference and here what I have learn and did not see on the news:

- Virtually all infected people show SARS viruse in the fecals matter only 50% show SARS viruses in the resporatory system. Therefore SARS viruse would be transmitted from air to air, fecal to gastric passage and from fecal to air.
- Some of the first cases had severe diahrea.
- The epidic in Hong-Kong started at an appartment building due to leakage of the sewage pipe and with somebody with severe diahrea. These pipe are outside the building so the leak would dry and the viruse would be blown back in the building.
- The viruse can survive in the air for a max of 24-48 hour, in fecal matter for 2 weeks and in diahrea fecal matter up to 4 weeks.
- China official new about a severe pneumonia-like disease in food handler since November 2002 and they did not notify the WHO before mid-february 2003.
- The source of the viruse would be an animal in the family of the cats (I don't remember the name).
- The viruse would of spread to animal handlers and cook that handle these animal.


It the important stuff I think has to be said.

KLscilevothma

I've heard that the virus can be spread from faeces to people via tiny faeces droplets in air, not from air to air. (Perhaps my information isn't very updated) If it can be spread by air, it might have been developed into a pandemic already.

I've heard that sars virus could be spread extremely fast with the presence of "super virus carrier". I've heard that the virus in the apartment building in Hong Kong has mutated and became much stronger than "ordinarly" sars virus. The death rate of sars patients who lived in that apartment building is particularly high.

Yeah, the first sars patient in Hong Kong was believed to be brought by a professor from China who worked in a hospital in China and did researches on sars virus.

I've heard from the news that scientists found the virus in bats and other animals too. Perhaps this virus comes from mammals, not birds.

newton1

not air to air
if not , thne wear the mouth-muffle is no use

iansmith

As i said only 50% of the people with SARS have virus in their lung secretion, so air to air contamination is happening. The MD that was taking said that sometimes the transmission occurs to health workers by air to air when they were intubing a patient with SARS and respiratory distress (When people are intubates, they cough a lot because your introducing a foreign object in the throat).

Found my notes, it should says 24-48 minutes, 2 days and 4 days.

newton1

my place face have SRAS very serious
but what i heard from the center for disease control
SARS is not spread air to air

KLscilevothma

When the patients cough, their saliva droplets with lots of sar virus come out. It is the virus in tiny saliva droplets which infects medical staffs. It is the same in the apartment building where there were lots of sars patients in HOng KOng. The virus adhere on very tiny faeces droplets and was spread through air. The virus adhere on mediums like very tiny saliva and faeces droplets and the droplets were spread in air. I think "air to air" isn't the exact term to describe this phenomenon.

Also I have a queston. I've heard that coronaviruses can't survive at 'high' temperature, say 30 degrees celcius. Is that correct?

KLscilevothma

Civet cats. [;)]

iansmith

It is what you call air to air (respiratory track to respiratory track)transmission as far as I know.

thanks. From what the speaker said is that the civet cats are asymptomic carrier

Sting

Good point. I was actually about to mention the use of the mouth covering. Such would be the case if the virus was spread by means of air.

Doesn't "air to air" usually insinuate inhalation?

Not meaning to make light of a serious situation but there is a new type of SARS out there and it's called Sexy Asian Respiratory Syndrome and it describes when women are having trouble breathing when I walk into the room [:D]