New studies suggest airborne SARS transmission is possible
Two new studies present evidence that the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may spread through the air, not just through direct contact with contaminated water droplets as previous research had shown....... SARS coronavirus was detected in the air in a patient's room during the 2003 outbreak in Toronto, according to a new study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases....Chest radiographs can predict risk of death in SARS patients
Radiologists can estimate the risk of death to a SARS patient by the seventh day from the onset of symptoms by using chest radiographs, according to a new study by researchers in Hong Kong. This early determination can allow a physician to better tailor treatment for the SARS patient. ...... The researchers analyzed 4,369 chest radiographs from 313 SARS patients from the time of their admission i...Fair decisions more important when hospitals face crisis like SARS
But international medical ethics specialists (appendix 1) who evaluated the performance of one large Toronto area hospital during last year's SARS outbreak conclude that procedural requirements, particularly fair and ethical priority-setting, are even more important in the midst of a crisis.... ..."Hospitals operate at their best when staff and patients trust the process," says Doug Martin, PhD,...First US SARS vaccine trial opens at NIH
Powerful research tools that speed up vaccine development have led to the start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS. The disease killed hundreds of people around the world before it was brought under control in 2003 with aggressive conventional public health measures. ...... Researchers at the Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy an...2 years after the world first became aware of a new form of fatal pneumonia, some of the extraordinary and unexpected consequences of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 20022003 are revealed in a series of articles in the November issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases....... In 2003, there were 8098 SARS cases in 29 countries with 774 deaths. Places worst affected by SARS...HIV, West Nile virus, SARS infections and thoracic transplantation
SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2004 — Complications from infectious diseases, such as HIV and West Nile virus in heart and lung transplant patients, is the focus of a joint symposium at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) 24th Annual Meeting held in San Francisco. When demand for organs continually outstrips supply, offering transplants to patients with infectious...Second NIAID SARS vaccine candidate helps mice fend off SARS
An experimental vaccine based on a critical piece of the SARS virus protects mice from SARS infection, researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found. When exposed to the SARS virus, immunized mice produced SARS-specific antibodies, and virus replication was nearly eliminated....... The new report, to be pu...NIAID vaccine protects against SARS virus infection in mice
An experimental vaccine prevents the SARS virus from replicating in laboratory mice, according to a new report in the April 1 issue of Nature. Scientists at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, developed the vaccine. The vaccine was tested in a recently-described mouse model of SARS infect...Mouse antibodies thwart SARS virus
......This discovery affirms that researchers developing vaccines that trigger antibodies to the SARS virus are heading in the right direction. Vaccines can stimulate the immune system to produc...SARS without pneumonia could be common in outbreak areas
Results of research from Hong Kong in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) without pneumonia could be common among populations affected by SARS outbreaks. ... ...SARS has now affected 30 countries in five continents, with more than 8400 cases and more than 910 deaths. A novel virus, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is known to be the causative a...Although the effect of SARS had a dramatic effect on the health care system in the greater Toronto area during the spring of 2003, the psychosocial effects on hospital staff has not been given adequate attention. Leslie Nickell and colleagues surveyed staff at the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre during the first phase of the outbreak. (Sunnybrook and Women's College admitted...Scientists identify a human antibody that blocks SARS virus infection
BOSTON--An antibody plucked from a "library" of human antibodies has powerfully blocked infection by the SARS virus in laboratory tests, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report. This discovery could expedite the development of an antibody drug for the prevention or early treatment of SARS, which killed nearly 800 people in a global outbreak last year. ......Researchers from Dana-Farber,...Sandia-developed foam likely would stop SARS virus quickly, Sandia/Kansas State team shows
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Researchers at the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories and Kansas State University have shown that chemical formulations previously developed at Sandia to decontaminate chemical and biological warfare agents are likely effective at killing the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). ......In a series of tests conduct...Preliminary report suggests combination therapy may help treat SARS
CHICAGO A preliminary study suggests that use of a combination of corticosteroids and interferon may have a role in treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), according to an article in the December 24/31 issue of . ...... According to background information in the article, SARS is characterized by fever, lower respiratory tract symptoms, and abnormal findings on chest x-ray. As of...SARS outbreak in Beijing spread rapidly, was controlled fairly quickly
CHICAGO Improving triage in hospitals and dissemination of information to the public helped bring a rapid resolution to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Beijing in early 2003, according to an article in the December 24/31 issue of (JAMA). ...... Beijing, China, experienced the largest outbreak of SARS in the world with a total of 2,521 reported probable cases, accordin...Animal model shows early promise for SARS vaccine
US authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET highlight preliminary findings which could mark an important step in the development of a human vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A genetically engineered vaccine was found to be effective in triggering an immune reaction among six rhesus macaques.... ...A new form of coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was identified as th...No significant genetic difference in viruses responsible for two major Hong Kong SARS outbreaks
The possibility that two different strains of the SARS virus were...responsible for the Prince of Wales Hospital and Amoy Gardens outbreaks in...Hong Kong earlier this year is disputed by authors of a research letter in...this week's issue of THE LANCET.... ...SARS is a global health concern. The apparent increased frequency of...diarrhoea (73% compared with 20%), admission to intensive care (32%...High pollution may increase SARS death rate
Air pollution is associated with an increased risk of dying from SARS, according to a report published this week in Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. The study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas where pollution levels are high. ... 5,327 cases of SARS have been diagnosed in mainland China since November 2...SARS death rate doubles in polluted cities
A new study led by researchers at the UCLA School of Public Health associates air pollution with an increased risk of dying from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.... ...Published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, the study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas...BioSecurity 2003 to draw top experts in anthrax, smallpox, SARS
WASHINGTON, D.C. Medical, public health, research professionals and journalists, who must prepare for, respond to, and cover biological and chemical threats are encouraged to attend BioSecurity 2003 , organized by Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical International, in conjunction with the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security and Jane's...Emory's Jeffrey Koplan joins Hong Kong SARS expert committee in report to government
Jeffrey P. Koplan, MD, MPH, vice president for academic...health affairs at Emory University, is one of 11 international public...health experts who reported today to the Hong Kong government on...lessons learned from that country's SARS outbreak. The SARS Expert...Committee was commissioned last May to review the management and...control of the epidemic and to identify lessons to be learned to....Did rats spread SARS in Amoy Gardens?
A hypothesis in this week's issue of THE LANCET proposes that roof rats could have been responsible for the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong's Amoy Gardens apartment block where over 300 people were infected with the SARS virus earlier this year.... ...Stephen Ng from Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, USA, questions how one person (...Interferons for treatment of SARS?
Authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggest that recombinant interferons - synthetic versions of naturally occurring compounds of the immune system - could be a an effective treatment for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).... ...Although antivirals are probably essential for the treatment of SARS-CoV infection, the antiviral ribavirin (a conventional treatment f...Novel coronavirus confirmed as causative agent of SARS
Leading scientists worldwide investigating the cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) confirm that a novel coronavirus is the primary cause of the disease. The study is published on THE LANCET's website ( ) at 0001 H Tuesday 22 July UK time....... SARS was first reported in China in November 2002, with over 8300 cases and 812 deaths reported by the beginning of July 2003. A novel coron...New digital tool unveiled to help business avoid SARS risks
PITTSBURGH Carnegie Mellon researcher Asim Smailagic and Dan Siewiorek with their students from Rapid Prototyping of Computer Systems class, will demonstrate a new wireless meeting space designed to save time and money for businesses April 30 at 1:30 p.m. in room 2202 of Hamburg Hall. ... Dubbed project BARN, the interactive physical and digital workspace supports collaborative pr...Research from Hong Kong fast-tracked for publication on THE LANCET's website- - provides evidence that a new virus belonging to the family Coronaviridae is likely to be the main cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).... ...Malik Peiris from the University of Hong Kong and colleagues studied 50 patients with SARS from five separate outbreak clusters. After identifying a new type of...AS CONCERN grows over the continuing spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the key question is whether the disease can be contained. The answer will depend on how the virus spreads and evolves, which is still uncertain, and on whether healthcare systems, particularly in developing countries, can spot SARS and respond effectively. ...So far, more than 1900 people in 22 countries ha...