Ok, I have a related question, though its a bit off-topic. Can any doctor or pseudo-doctor tell me whats the difference between "Severe" and "Acute"?
From a layman's POV, these seem pretty similar and kinda redundant to have them both in the name SARS, or is it just for aesthetics?
Acute is something with sudden onset.........
Severe is something which is very -as the word says- severe.
often acute diseases are also very severe, but that doesn't not always have to be the case. A chronic disease can suddenly increase in severity. Like arthrosis can suddenly exaggerate and increase in severity
wrapped in sheets…Ghusl ho saka?
I took Noor for her first vaccination yesterday. (Regularly scheduled stuff for newborns.) Our doctor is Chinese.
It was scary sitting in the waiting room....everyone except for the baby and I had masks on. I was on the verge of getting up and standing outside instead of staying in that confined space.
When will this end?
I think SARS related deaths have been sensationalised in the media, hopefully the virus will mutate into a harmless variety before long. It still doesn’t compare to influenza though e.g.
Up to 26,000 people, mostly elderly, died in the [flu] epidemic that swept Britain in 1989…
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/01/09/flu.outbreak/index.html
etc, etc.
Hope I’m right.
Some important info in this article:
Train passengers possibly exposed to SARS, CBC, 20 April 2003
A woman thought to be infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome was aboard a commuter train travelling west of Toronto last week, public health officials said Sunday.
She took the train on two occasions. Both times she was in a four-passenger “pod” with three other people who should watch themselves for symptoms, said Dr. Bob Nosal, the medical officer of health for Halton Region. The woman had symptoms of the potentially fatal illness when she took the GO Train on April 14, leaving Union Station at 4:30 p.m., heading to Appleby station in Burlington, said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Toronto’s acting medical officer of health. The next morning, the woman took the train again at 7:32 a.m. to go to work as a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital.
She had a fever and was “feeling unwell,” but was not coughing, said Yaffe. The woman was admitted to Mount Sinai for treatment of SARS later on Tuesday.
At Sunday’s news conference, officials provided a couple of clues for those passengers seated with the woman on the Tuesday trip. On that morning, the three passengers sitting with the woman were discussing SARS and one was apparently reading from a communicable disease contrrol handbook. The woman, described only as being in her early '30s, did not speak to anyone, said Yaffe.
“Conceivably, the people sitting there would have had close contact, close exposure for probably half an hour at least from Appleby Line … on the Tuesday morning,” said Nosal. Nosal said he learned that the nurse was a probable SARS case late Saturday, prompting Sunday’s public briefing.
Another alert for SARS was issued Sunday by Dr. Hanif Kassam, acting medical officer of health for York Region, north of Toronto. It asks anyone who was at the Ward Damiani Funeral Home in Woodbridge on Friday April 18 and Saturday April 19, or who attended a funeral mass the same Saturday at St. David Parish in Maple to contact the health authority. One person at the funeral was showing signs of SARS, and health officials say it’s possible others were exposed to the disease.
So it seems 2 public health officials aren't taking this seriously and have been served with a section 22 as of late. Shame on them!
BAD NEWS:
i just heard SARS virus could b worser than AIDS.
I don't know about other countries, but the Dutch government has given a negative travel advice to China, Hong Kong and Toronto (, Canada).....
Toronto officials seem pretty angry that UN has included Toronto in the list of places (others being HK and China) where people should not travel due to SARS.
In Toronto there are isolated incidents where as W.H.O and CDC have declared an international travel advisory without consulting our microbiologist let alone investigate the premises. There are 32 members on W.H.O. and none of them have proof to declare an all out travel advisory. In comparison to the Asian continent we have dealt with each situation effectively. The Mayor (god give him ilm to differentiate between organizations) has made a smart move by asking the W.H.O. to negotiate upon this travel advisory as it is drastically effecting our economy. Full story here
WHO may ease travel warnings on Sars areas
World Health Organisation travel restrictions to some areas affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome may be eased “piecemeal” over the next few weeks, as the world learns to live with the virus, according to a senior WHO official.
…He said the world should learn to live with a virus that was serious but not hugely infectious, and may already have become part of our environment.
BEIJING (Reuters) - The Philippines reported its first deaths from SARS on Friday and authorities in Taiwan quarantined over 1,000 doctors, nurses and patients in a hospital to halt the spread of the deadly flu-like disease.
A World Health Organization official said SARS could become a horrifying epidemic if it spread in China’s provinces or in nations like India and Bangladesh, where people live cheek-by-jowl and medical facilities are poor.
*so on 1 hand the WHO says it may ease its restrictions on travel on “a virus that is serious but not hugely infectious, and may already have become part of our environment.” and on the other hand SARS continues to spread and “it could become a horrifying epidemic.” does anyone really trust that the WHO knows what the he!! they are doing? *
Who would? 
new disease---SARS
** Mods plz move this thread to the family & health forum **
SARS
Be Cautious About the New Disease!!
Q. What is SARS ?
A. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It's a new disease that doctors still don't know much about.
Q. What are the symptoms of SARS?
A. They are a lot like pneumonia or the flu. People get a very high fever -- at least 104 degrees. They also usually have shortness of breath or other problems breathing and a dry cough. Some people get other symptoms, including a headache, stiff or achy muscles, a loss of appetite, fatigue, a rash and diarrhea.
Q. How do you get SARS?
A. It seems that you have to have very close contact with someone who has it. Almost all the people who have gotten SARS have either been hospital workers who cared for sick people or members of a victim's family. Doctors believe that it is spread by tiny droplets that get airborne when someone sneezes or coughs, or by contact with other bodily fluids such as blood. The people who have gotten SARS outside of Asia have all either recently traveled to Asian countries where it is spreading or had
close contact with someone who recently returned from there. Experts don't think it's easy to catch SARS from sitting next to a sick person on a plane, but they are investigating one incident in which Chinese tourists may have gotten infected by flying on a plane with an infected man.
Q. Where is it spreading the most?
A. The disease has hit hardest in China, especially in Hong Kong and the southern province of Guangdong. But there has also been a number of cases in Hanoi and in Singapore. The outbreak nearest to the United States has been in Toronto.
Q. Are people in this area at risk?
A. No one can yet predict how the epidemic will unfold in the future, but at this point there seems to be little risk unless you are in contact with people who have traveled to affected areas or have been there yourself. Four possible cases have,however, been reported in Virginia.
Q. How can I protect myself?
A. The best way is to avoid traveling to places where the disease is most common and avoid close contact with someone who appears to have the disease. Hospital workers who have started wearing masks and gloves have not gotten sick.
Q. Can SARS be treated?
A. Antibiotics don't seem to work, which is usually the case with virus-caused diseases. One antiviral drug known as ribavirin may help, but doctors aren't sure yet.
Q. How dangerous is the disease?
A. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of patients get better on their own in about a week. The other 10 percent to 20 percent get worse, with many ending up in intensive care and requiring mechanical ventilators to help them breathe. About half of those people die.
Q. Who is most at risk?
A. People over age 40 and those who have other medical problems, such as heart or liver disease, seem to do the worst.
Q. What causes SARS?
A. Scientists are not sure, but they have found two previously unknown viruses in patients. One is from the coronavirus family of viruses, the other from a different family called paramyxoviruses. Paramyxoviruses cause many different diseases, including mumps, measles and respiratory illnesses. Coronaviruses usually just cause the common cold.
Q. Where did SARS come from?
A. The disease is believed to have first emerged in Guangdong province in China in November and then spread to Hong Kong and elsewhere.
Q. Could this be bioterrorism?
A. Health officials aren't ruling anything out, but they think this is something that occurred naturally, perhaps when a virus that usually only makes animals sick changed somehow and became able to make people sick.
hmm , u r rght abt that plane thing, coz thee is one case in lahore, and that guy was infected through a guy sitting with him i guess. it snot completely confirmed report.
Coco, great job defending Toronto :clapping:
But, na ji.. I am not coming to Toronto anytime soon, till WHO lifts its travel advisory. 
J/k.. Our own Santa Clara county has the highest incidents of SARS in US. China Town nay marwa diya hai! 
where is my mask to wear ??
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by CocoNut: *
**The Mayor (*god give him ilm to differentiate between organizations) has made a smart move by asking the W.H.O. to negotiate upon this travel advisory as it is drastically effecting our economy. **
[/QUOTE]
Is it just me, or did i hear Mayor Mel Lastman state on CNN that he had never heard of the World Health Organization ? Was he for serious?
No, not as far as I know :p. He just said that these people who have not even visited Toronto are making decisions that greatly affect us.
**
hm acha. Thank you for trying to clear up my confusion, RT Wolf. :flower1:
The Globe and Mail stated that Lastman did state he had never heard of the WHO - but i am still mistaken. According to the Mayor’s spokesman, Lastman does know what the organization stands for; he was rather trying to question the legitimacy of the World Health Organization in issuing this statement.
i hope this country comes out of this quickly Insha’Allah.
i am not certain but i THINK it was Beijing that has ordered 4000 people into quarantine. Let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.