| Hong Kong recorded its highest daily number of deaths due to Sars a day after cautious reassurances from the government that the situation appeared to be stabilising.
On Saturday, 12 people died. Of these,five did not have a history of chronic disease and one was a 37 year-old man, widening concerns for younger, healthy Sars patients. Of the seven people who died on Sunday, four were previously healthy adults.
As doctors grapple with this and consider adjusting treatments, attention remains focused on the outbreak of cases at Amoy Gardens, where the virus spread through a creaky, sewerage system. This scenario makes fecal matter a second mode of transmission in addition to droplets spread by sneezing.
Another concern is that the virus spread at Amoy Gardens may have somehow mutated or be working with another infection. Patients there are suffering from more severe and even different symptoms, according to Yeoh Eng-Kiong, Hong Kong’s secretary for Health, Welfare and Food.
Around 20% of cases concerning AmoyGardens patients require intensive care, compared to 10% in regular cases. Around 66% of Amoy Gardens patients suffer from diarrhoea, compared with a rate of only 2-7% in other cases, said Mr. Yeoh.
So far, Hong Kong has been the only case worldwide where a case of environmental transmission of SARS may have occurred. There is suspicion from Hong Kong scientists that the virus may have mutated into a more virulent form, although the WHO doesn't believe enough evidence exists at the moment to substantiate this," the World Health Organisation said.
"The coronavirus that causes SARS does mutate quite frequently, but it's difficult to tell at the moment whether these mutations would necessarily be for theworse."
The WHO said it will send a team to Hong Kong soon to conduct further investigations specifically into how the virus was transmitted at Amoy Gardens, where the number of cases accounts for about quarter of Hong Kong’s total.
Heightened awareness of the risk posed by Hong Kong’s cramped, dense surroundings drew hundreds of thousands of people out for a massive cleanup campaign. To boost morale, government officials grabbed brooms, distributed bleach bottles and scrubbed escalators as the effort fanned into housing estates, parks, schools and shopping malls.
To prevent potential Sars patients from leaving Hong Kong, all flight passengers are being tested for high body temperature. Testing will begin this week for incoming passengers and there are plans to also screen land and sea arrivals.
Source: Financial Times | |
