Hong Kong Considers Sweeping Quarantine as Virus Spreads
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong was expected on Thursday to announce sweeping quarantine measures to contain a mystery pneumonia that has killed more than 50 people worldwide as scientists zeroed in on two viruses as suspected culprits.
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Slideshow: WHO Warns of Pneumonia-Like Illness
A day after Singapore ordered all schools closed, Hong Kong was considering its options in trying to stop severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) racing through the city of seven million after the deaths of 11 people, the government said.
More than 300 people have been infected in the former British colony, many developing severe pneumonia.
Adding to fears in Hong Kong was China's announcement on Wednesday that a mystery pneumonia outbreak there was far worse than previously thought, with 31 people dead in southern Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, and about 800 infected. Three people have also died in Beijing.
More than 1,300 people have been infected with a mystery pneumonia worldwide, leading to people canceling holidays and business trips to Asia, hitting airlines and tourism.
British rockers the Rolling Stones, along with a huge retinue of support staff, postponed two concerts scheduled for this weekend in Hong Kong after two performances this week in Singapore.
"Forget about Scud missiles and smart bombs, we could all die if someone with the disease merely coughs," said Shirley Li, a worried Hong Kong mother who sent her son to school in a surgical mask.
Panic is growing in Hong Kong and demand for surgical masks is so great that many pharmacies have run out or are rationing them. In some places, HK$10 (US$1.30) masks are selling for HK$100.
In Singapore, where two people have died and more than 70 have been infected, 861 people have been quarantined at home. Classes have been suspended, affecting 500,000 children.
DOUBLE TROUBLE As scientists raced to identify the virus, more cases emerged around the world.
Ontario, Canada's largest province, declared the pneumonia to be a provincial emergency after a jump in cases to 27 from 18, with another 30 cases under investigation. Three people have died.
The United States said it was monitoring 45 suspected cases in 20 states but the numbers fluctuate because pneumonia is common and many people have traveled to Southeast Asia recently.
Cases have also surfaced in Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and European countries including Germany and Italy. The disease is being spread by air travelers, leading to airlines to impose strict health measures on travelers.
Health experts said on Wednesday the actual culprit is far from being identified but said laboratories had found two different viruses in patients.
One is from a family called coronaviruses -- a cause of the common cold -- and one is from the paramyxovirus family, which cause measles and respiratory disease in babies.
Health officials around the world are running tests to see if they can more accurately identify the viruses, and then see if they are the actual cause of the disease.
Once confirmed, a vaccine can be made.
Canada became the latest country to issue a warning against travel to Hong Kong, southern China, Singapore and Hanoi.
The virus most likely started in southern China late last year before spreading to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada and Germany. The World Health Organization (news - web sites) says it is highly likely the illness in China is the same as SARS.
WHO said on Thursday the outbreak in southern China appeared to have peaked and numbers of infections were falling.
Initial symptoms of SARS include high fever, dry cough, chills and severe breathing problems. Even healthy and athletic adults can end up on a respirator within five days. Experts say most people recover but many develop severe pneumonia and it has a mortality rate of three to five percent.
Hong Kong said for the first time on Wednesday that the virus was spreading in the general community.
Director of Health Margaret Chan told a radio talk show that measures being considering included quarantining those who had been in contact with infected patients in a special isolated area, or confining them to their homes during the virus's incubation period, which is up to seven days.
A third option would require anyone exposed to the disease to report to a hospital or clinic on a daily basis until the incubation period was over.
Some doctors said a quarantine would come too late, or be nearly impossible to enforce.
"Cases are now scattered in different areas so there is no way that the government can implement forced isolation," said Lo Wing-lok, a legislator and infectious disease expert. |
