1807 cases of SARS in China with 79 deaths

[jiml1126]

China today unveils the "real number" cases of SARS.

In Beijing alone, there are 339 cases. 31 provinces and self-governed area has been affected, a total of 1807 cases reported, 79 deaths.

China has been blamed for hiding the truth and unwilling to cooperate. Citizens in Beijing were in shock when they heard the "latest number".

Beijing Mayor and China's health minister has been sacked for hiding the truth.

[B777-400]

that is a SHOCKING number

[nyc_spotter]

But the Chinese government said it wasn't so! It must not be true.

[aerpix]

As always, once it is out of control, we get the true figures.

Regards,
Peter

[iceman]

Those figures don’t cover the half of it. A friend of mine works as an administrator at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. Pretty much all of their medical staff is infected (something the press won’t report) and all non-medical personnel must work at home.

Another bit you won’t hear in the news: my friend tells me that the PRC has been sending a lot of their SARS patients to Hong Kong to have the HK authorities deal with them. A pretty sneaky way of dealing with the problem.

Another rumor in the medical community is that Beijing has closed two hospitals because of the spread of SARS.

Nonetheless, SARS isn’t as deadly a disease as the media freaks it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it is bad, but a 96% recovery rate (especially given that the majority of SARS deaths were people over the age of 65 and with a history of chronic respiratory illnesses) is somewhat illuminating.

[indian airlines]

Its about time that China told the truth. Maybe not the entire truth, but atleast most of it. By the way, the health minister etc. were sacked, but the govt. didn't say it was because of their inefficient handling of SARS. I think that's what it is because of, though.

Anyway, there is a ray of hope since the recovery rates are high.

[pbateson]

Also, Beijing Major was fired today.

[Richard]

Those are just the cities big cities, who knows how many there are in the countryside and smaller towns who have the disease. I bet there are many more than those already mind boggling figures.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, 20 people died of SARS over the weekend. 12 on Saturday , 8 on Sunday.

[aerpix]

The problem outside the larger cities in China is that medical service is so poor that they are probably not even able to do a proper SARS diagnosis. There may be cases and they do not relalize.

Regards,
Peter

[iceman]

There is a silver lining in the clouds. The temperature has been rising steadily in HK and Southern China the last week. The SARS virus apparently cannot survive for too long in extremely hot weather. The temperature will only go up as summer approaches.

[Richard]

Yes that is true. I think that the virus cannot survive in temperatures above 26 degrees celsius or someting. But Singapore still has SARS cases with it's 30C climate. I don't know if it will completely go away because of that, but hopefully it will be slowed down greatly. Unfortunately in Northern China it will be longer before temperatures get that high...

[aerpix]

In places like SIN and HKG you are a lot inside air-con structures. That's probably the reason the virus can survive even at 30 degrees.

Regards,
Peter

[LH 340-600]

If SARS can't survive temperature above 26° how could it survive in your body?
Or does the virus die faster when it is hot and dry?

[Richard]

Once it's in your body, the virus lives off one's body's cells, temperature doesn't matter any more.

[indian airlines]

Yeah. The SARS virus in the air can only survive is the temperature is below 28 degrees celcius. Once in the body however, temperature doesn't matter.

Some good news. On monday, 22 infected, 7 died, 27 released. Its the first time the number released have been more than the number infected.