Toronto case stirs docs' fears
By PAUL H.B. SHIN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The killer germ that has mostly spared America may be on the verge of spreading out of control, health experts warned yesterday.
The outbreak of a flulike illness in Toronto took a disturbing turn after doctors found a new patient with no known link with previous clusters of people suffering from SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Some health experts fear the new discovery in a high-rise apartment complex is a sign the highly infectious disease has thwarted aggressive efforts to isolate sick patients.
"This is unprecedented," said Dr. Donald Low of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. "None of us has the experience to say when to stop worrying."
Even more worrisome is that the strain of SARS circulating in Canada - the only country outside of Asia with fatalities - is about twice as deadly as the Asian strain.
Worldwide, SARS has killed 170 of 3,461 infected people, or about one in 20. But in Canada, the flulike illness has killed 13 of 126 - more than 1 in 10. All fatalities have been linked to an outbreak at Toronto's Scarborough Grace Hospital.
With the spread of SARS in Ontario, about 7,000 people have been quarantined and 650 are still in isolation.
The UN's World Health Organization confirmed Wednesday that SARS is caused by a new coronavirus - a mutant relative of the common cold. But it's still a mystery why the disease has been more deadly in Canada.
Tough measures
"We're learning as we go because SARS is both biologically new and it is new in terms of its transmission," said Dr. Martin Blaser, an infectious disease expert at NYU Medical Center.
Blaser doubts SARS will spread unchecked in Toronto because that hasn't happened in southern China, where the disease is believed to have sprouted last November.
But because coronaviruses mutate easily, that could change. "If a mutant arises that is more transmissible, then we're going to be in trouble," Blaser warned.
Health officials in Ontario have vowed to enforce quarantine rules with tough measures - including electronic tracking bracelets for suspected patients. They have hired private security investigators to check on people in isolation and visited patients' homes to ensure compliance.
Canadian officials have warned neighbors of the Toronto high-rise patient to report to a doctor if they show SARS-like symptoms, including high fever, dry cough, breathing difficulty and headache.
Several countries, including Australia and Ireland, have told their citizens to avoid traveling to Toronto. But the U.S. government has not warned Americans to stay away.
Health officials said the Easter weekend will be a crucial time in the battle against SARS as religious and family gatherings could widen the spread of the virus.
"We are at a very, very critical time," said Dr. James Young, Ontario's commissioner of public safety.
Originally published on April 19, 2003
!
By PAUL H.B. SHIN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The killer germ that has mostly spared America may be on the verge of spreading out of control, health experts warned yesterday.
The outbreak of a flulike illness in Toronto took a disturbing turn after doctors found a new patient with no known link with previous clusters of people suffering from SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Some health experts fear the new discovery in a high-rise apartment complex is a sign the highly infectious disease has thwarted aggressive efforts to isolate sick patients.
"This is unprecedented," said Dr. Donald Low of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. "None of us has the experience to say when to stop worrying."
Even more worrisome is that the strain of SARS circulating in Canada - the only country outside of Asia with fatalities - is about twice as deadly as the Asian strain.
Worldwide, SARS has killed 170 of 3,461 infected people, or about one in 20. But in Canada, the flulike illness has killed 13 of 126 - more than 1 in 10. All fatalities have been linked to an outbreak at Toronto's Scarborough Grace Hospital.
With the spread of SARS in Ontario, about 7,000 people have been quarantined and 650 are still in isolation.
The UN's World Health Organization confirmed Wednesday that SARS is caused by a new coronavirus - a mutant relative of the common cold. But it's still a mystery why the disease has been more deadly in Canada.
Tough measures
"We're learning as we go because SARS is both biologically new and it is new in terms of its transmission," said Dr. Martin Blaser, an infectious disease expert at NYU Medical Center.
Blaser doubts SARS will spread unchecked in Toronto because that hasn't happened in southern China, where the disease is believed to have sprouted last November.
But because coronaviruses mutate easily, that could change. "If a mutant arises that is more transmissible, then we're going to be in trouble," Blaser warned.
Health officials in Ontario have vowed to enforce quarantine rules with tough measures - including electronic tracking bracelets for suspected patients. They have hired private security investigators to check on people in isolation and visited patients' homes to ensure compliance.
Canadian officials have warned neighbors of the Toronto high-rise patient to report to a doctor if they show SARS-like symptoms, including high fever, dry cough, breathing difficulty and headache.
Several countries, including Australia and Ireland, have told their citizens to avoid traveling to Toronto. But the U.S. government has not warned Americans to stay away.
Health officials said the Easter weekend will be a crucial time in the battle against SARS as religious and family gatherings could widen the spread of the virus.
"We are at a very, very critical time," said Dr. James Young, Ontario's commissioner of public safety.
Originally published on April 19, 2003
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