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Topic: questions and answers about SARS (Read 193 times)

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questions and answers about SARS
« on: Apr 20^th, 2003, 3:51pm »

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~ the following text is adapted from the Health Canada Web site ~

What is severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)?
SARS is an infection in which affected individuals develop a fever of more than 38.0 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), severe fatigue, dry cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing. In some cases, the respiratory symptoms become increasingly severe, and people require oxygen support and mechanical ventilation. Other symptoms of SARS include muscle aches and pains, severe headaches and sore throat.

Who is at risk of developing SARS?
Current risk factors include recent travel to affected countries in Asia, or close contact with a person who has SARS, such as living in the same household, providing health care to someone with SARS, and having direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a person with SARS.

What can be done to help prevent the spread of SARS?
Practising good personal hygiene is a key to stopping the spread of this disease. Thorough hand-washing with a disinfectant or using hot, soapy water and lathering for at least 20 seconds. This is because disease-causing micro-organisms can frequently be found on the hands.

Should members of the general public wear a mask as protection against SARS?
Masks are not recommended for use by the general public. The only exception would be a person having come into close contact with a SARS-affected individual.

Where can I find up-to-date information on SARS?
Health Canada Web site: http://www.sars.gc.ca
Information for the public: 1-800-454-8302
Ontario: 1-866-797-0007
Toronto: 416-338-7600

Canadian numbers

As of Thursday afternoon, Health Canada said it had received reports of 306 probable and suspect cases of SARS in six provinces, up from 303 on Wednesday. Numbers issued by provincial health departments may differ.

The numbers are cumulative, and therefore include people who are sick, those who have died (13) and those who have recovered. The numbers may drop if a suspect case is found not to be SARS, or if it moves to the probable category.

Following is the provincial breakdown:

Ontario: 128 probable and 123 suspect cases.
British Columbia: 4 probable and 39 suspect.
Alberta: 5 suspect.
Prince Edward Island: 4 suspect.
New Brunswick: 2 suspect.
Saskatchewan: 1 suspect.

Major developments

A group of 450 people who participated in a business conference last weekend in Montreal have agreed to voluntary quarantine after learning they were in contact with a Toronto man who has been diagnosed with a probable case of SARS.
Residents at a condominium building in the northeast of Toronto are being warned they were at risk after a SARS-like illness was detected in several residents of the 252-unit building.
Labour unions called for immediate changes to Canada's Employment Insurance program, saying the SARS health emergency has created a "secondary crisis" in the hospitality industry.
Three Canadian children hospitalized in Australia earlier this month probably had SARS, the government told the World Health Organization. The children have fully recovered and there had been no transmission to other family members or close contacts.
Malaysia is lifting a ban imposed last week on tourists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Canada because it is satisfied with their efforts to contain the deadly SARS virus.
An Indian national has been confirmed as suffering from India's first case of SARS. The 32-year-old man, a marine engineer from the western coastal state of Goa, had travelled to Hong Kong and Singapore and showed symptoms of SARS on his return.
The spread of the SARS virus in a Hong Kong residential block has been linked to the building's sewage system which carried the virus from an infected man with diarhhea. Drains on the bathroom floors of the complex had provided a pathway through which residents came into contact with small droplets containing the virus from contaminated sewage.One version of a test for the virus created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could be shipped to state labs as soon as the end of next week.

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