From: Young Patrick (M83072) (Patrick.Young@sshawebmail.nhs.uk)
Date: Mon Mar 17 2003 - 11:28:56 MST
This is what they sent out on the NHS cascade.
Excuse me. I pasted text rather than a link as the NHS net doesn't allow
casual browsing through its firewall - allegedly.
They neglected to mention that most of the deaths are amongst medical staff.
Nice.
Rgds,
Patrick
Clinnix Home Bulletin CMO Urgent Communication: Acute respiratory syndrome
CMO Urgent Communication: Acute respiratory syndrome
(Monday, 17 March '03 12:00am)
Recent travellers to Vietnam, Hong Kong, and southern China at risk (REF:
DH)
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has issued an urgent communication urging
GPs to be alert to cases of acute respiratory illness in people who have
recently travelled to Hanoi in Vietnam, Hong Kong, or the Guangdong province
of southern China.
The signs and symptoms of the disease in Hanoi include, most commonly, an
initial influenza-like illness (rapid onset of high fever followed by muscle
aches, headache and sore throat). In some but not all cases this is followed
by bilateral pneumonia progressing, in some cases, to acute respiratory
distress requiring assisted breathing on a respirator. Some patients are
recovering but others remain critically ill. The cause of these illnesses is
as yet unknown.
It is recommended that patients with atypical pneumonia who may be related
to outbreaks in these areas which are being investigated by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) are nursed using barrier nursing techniques,
investigated, and any suspect cases reported to the Respiratory Diseases
Division or Duty Doctor of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre,
Colindale (Tel: 020 8200 6868).
The WHO has provided the following case definitions for hospital-based
surveillance:
Suspected case
A person presenting to a health care facility after 23 February 2003 with
all of the following:
Sudden onset of high fever (over 38 degrees centigrade)
Myalgia
One or more respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, shortness of breath,
difficulty breathing)
AND one or more the following:
History of travel to mainland China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of China, or Hanoi within two weeks of symptom onset
History of having cared for, having lived with, having had face-to-face
contact with, or having had contact with respiratory secretions of, a
probable case.
Probable Case
A suspect case with chest x-ray findings of pneumonia or Adult Respiratory
Distress Syndrome.
Suspected or probable cases based on the WHO definition should be considered
to have possible links to these outbreaks. They should be isolated and cared
for using barrier nursing techniques. They should be investigated for viral
and bacterial causes for their illness including the 'atypical' organisms.
Treatment should include antimicrobials active against both typical and
atypical organisms. Local hospital laboratories should liaise with local
PHLS laboratories to ensure that a comprehensive range of investigations are
carried out. Laboratories are asked to discuss the investigation of such
cases with the Respiratory Virus and the Respiratory and Systemic Infection
laboratories of the Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale (Tel: 020
8200 4400).
REF: Department of Health, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS
Department of Health website
Clinnix is not responsible for the accuracy or availability of information
on external websites.
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---- Synigence provides this information strictly for use by or distribution through a healthcare professional, who is solely responsible and liable for any advice contained in it, based on it or implied by it. Use by an individual is entirely at their own risk. Copyright (c) Synigence Plc. All rights reserved. -----Original Message----- From: Max M [mailto:maxmcorp@worldonline.dk] Sent: 17 March 2003 07:49 To: extropians@extropy.org Subject: No answers yet on mystery pneumonia http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/03/16/mystery.disease/index.html > A particularly virulent form of pneumonia had scientists and doctors > scrambling Sunday for more information to share with a fearful public > that already has been told to consider postponing visits to several > locations where the disease has been reported. This seems to be a particluarly nasty pneumonia. > Over the past week, more than 150 new or suspected cases of the > pneumonia have been reported around the world, the WHO said. Nine of > those people have died. So far this is a 6% mortality rate. But many of those with the disease probably just haven't died yet. Probably we will end up in the >10% mortality range. Hopefully it will not get a chance to spread, or it will make all the worlds other problems seem tiny in comparison. -- hilsen/regards Max M Rasmussen, Denmark http://www.futureport.dk/ Fremtiden, videnskab, skeptiscisme og transhumanisme
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