S.A.R.S. in goa

steven_ber · Apr 17th, 2003, 14:48

just heard on the news that the first case of S.A.R.S. has been reported in india in the state of goa.

i guess it had to happen eventualy

click here for the BBC report on this story

Apr 18th, 2003, 10:52

powered by moneycontrol.com

13:22 India confirms its first SARS case
The main testing centre for SARS in Pune has confirmed India's first case of SARS. What is the government planning to do to contain its spread?

India has confirmed its first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS. An official at a laboratory in Pune, the main testing centre in India, told Reuters that the lab had confirmed that a man in Goa was suffering from SARS.

The patient, a marine engineer, was admitted to Goa Medical College on April 10, with a fever and cough. He was discharged two days later after his chest X-ray was found to be normal and fever had subsided.

Meanwhile, his blood and sputum samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, NIV, in Pune, and the presence of new coronavirus causing SARS was confirmed last evening, Director-General of Health Services, S P Aggarwal, said today. He has again been admitted to the hospital and isolated, Dr Aggarwal added.

Health Minister Sushma Swaraj held a meeting of senior officers of the ministry and National Institute of Communicable Diseases, NICD, this morning to review the situation in the light of the confirmed SARS case being detected. Two officials of NICD, P K Patnaik, Joint Director, Epidemiology and Sunil Gupta, Joint Director, Microbiology left for Goa this noon to collect all the information from the contacts and collect samples, NICD Director Shiv Lal said.

''We are in touch with the health officials of Goa since yesterday. The situation is being monitored and all the precautionary measures are in force,'' Dr Agarwal said.

Meanwhile, a 42-year old New Zealander, who arrived in Delhi last night from a Bangkok flight, has been admitted to the isolation ward of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital with suspected SARS. The person, had cough and shortness of breath. His biological sample has been sent to the NICD and report was expected within 48 hours, Dr Agarwal said.

All the airports and seaports have already been alerted and doctors are keeping an eye on the people who have SARS symptoms like cough, breathlessness and fever. Also, people coming from various countries have been asked to fill a performa giving details of their health status and whether they had visited any country where SARS has spread.

In Malaysia, health officials today announced its seventh probable SARS case. Eleven other people are in hospital with suspected SARS symptoms.

Health authorities in South Korea said that four people were suspected of being infected by the deadly virus. The National Institute of Health said the four were under observation in hospitals or at home, but showed no serious symptoms related to SARS.

They include an airport quarantine official, two people who had visited China, and a man suffering from a respiratory illness. South Korea has not reported any confirmed SARS case since the deadly virus first emerged in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in November 2002.

Malaysia, meanwhile, is lifting a ban imposed last week on tourists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Canada due to SARS, from today.

The Malaysian cabinet has decided to lift restrictions for most travellers from five countries hit by SARS, a government official said. It is satisfied with efforts in these countries to contain the SARS virus

Malaysia had last week revoked visa-free travel for citizens of Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Canada, and then had imposed a freeze on visas for tourists from those countries, as well as China and Taiwan.

The decision to end the freeze would take effect immediately for some countries, and in stages for others, the official added. Travellers from these countries must still apply for visas and be declared free of SARS-linked symptoms.

-

-m2- · Apr 21st, 2003, 03:17

I passed through Singapore mid-March oblivious to the emerging problem and have been following the story as it develops -- it is daily news here as Canada is a hot-spot.

The story gets more complicated, and serious, by the day as more deaths and more cases emerge despite fairly rigorous control attempts. The notion of the 'super-spreader' that can infect a whole floor of a hotel, or the cluster of cases in vertically alligned flats in a HK apartment; even occasional infection of health care workers despite total barrier protection. Conflicting notions of whether this is a rather deadly condition or the frequent reassurances that 'only 3%', or some low figure, become seriously ill (and possibly die) doesn't make me feel much better. Fortunately for me, I'm home and well and, one way or another, this will be cleared up before I hit the road again in November or so. Frankly, I would hesitate subjecting myself to a 12 hr trip in a full plane passing through HK or any Asian hub right now.

I guess it was inevitable that SARS would show up in India at some point so it is probably fortunate that there was some warning and that it has arrived in the dry warm season when flu and respiratory problems are at a minimum -- if it had hit N. India during the cold and foggy winter this year, the situation would probably have been much worse. Still, lets hope India and the rest of the world get SARS under control quickly -- a lot of people are being impacted, both by the virus and by the economic chill that it is creating.

Watson · Apr 21st, 2003, 03:48

I heard of a theory that the SARS mustation arises from very unhygenic conditions in society which would in some ways explain the breakaout in SE Asia. I just hope and pray that this passes.

vistet · Apr 21st, 2003, 06:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Watson
I heard of a theory that the SARS mustation arises from very unhygenic conditions in society which would in some ways explain the breakaout in SE Asia. I just hope and pray that this passes.

My own theory would be that the mutation has been allowed to grow in a "unsane" ( read authoritarian) society which is more concerned with protecting its reputation than its citizens.
In this respect Indians are better off than the Chinese.

Apr 21st, 2003, 10:20

breaking news.... Times of India

Questions raised over veracity of SARS in India

KALPANA JAIN
NEW DELHI: Some virologists in the country are pressing for a scientific review of the results of SARS tests as they feel Indian Council of Medical Research has not disclosed all details.

India's first SARS case baffling, says expert

-m2- · Apr 25th, 2003, 00:52

SARS in India is going to be an ongoing story and of some concern to those planning a trip in the near future. Perhaps archits or other Indian members can keep an eye out for pertinent news and keep this, or another SARS thread, updated for us. I would suggest a paragraph summary and a link, in order to keep the size of the thread manageable. Any other ideas?

steven_ber · Apr 25th, 2003, 01:17

i saw some news in the asian age (london edition) last saturday about delhi airport officials pulling passengers in for tests who had just arrived from singapore.

the tests were the following morning forcing passengers to stay in the airport overnight.

two worrying aspects:

1, health officials were only pulling up passengers wearing protective masks, thinking they had something to hide, whilst allowing all passengers not wearing masks to pass through unchecked.

2, an indian man who did not want to wait till the morning offered an official Rs1000 and was told he could pass through unchecked as long as he took his mask off.

Apr 17th, 2003, 14:48	#1
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,572	S.A.R.S. in goa just heard on the news that the first case of S.A.R.S. has been reported in india in the state of goa. i guess it had to happen eventualy click here for the BBC report on this story Last edited by steven_ber : Apr 18th, 2003 at 03:16.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Apr 18th, 2003, 10:52	#2
archits Posts: n/a	powered by moneycontrol.com 13:22 India confirms its first SARS case The main testing centre for SARS in Pune has confirmed India's first case of SARS. What is the government planning to do to contain its spread? India has confirmed its first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS. An official at a laboratory in Pune, the main testing centre in India, told Reuters that the lab had confirmed that a man in Goa was suffering from SARS. The patient, a marine engineer, was admitted to Goa Medical College on April 10, with a fever and cough. He was discharged two days later after his chest X-ray was found to be normal and fever had subsided. Meanwhile, his blood and sputum samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, NIV, in Pune, and the presence of new coronavirus causing SARS was confirmed last evening, Director-General of Health Services, S P Aggarwal, said today. He has again been admitted to the hospital and isolated, Dr Aggarwal added. Health Minister Sushma Swaraj held a meeting of senior officers of the ministry and National Institute of Communicable Diseases, NICD, this morning to review the situation in the light of the confirmed SARS case being detected. Two officials of NICD, P K Patnaik, Joint Director, Epidemiology and Sunil Gupta, Joint Director, Microbiology left for Goa this noon to collect all the information from the contacts and collect samples, NICD Director Shiv Lal said. ''We are in touch with the health officials of Goa since yesterday. The situation is being monitored and all the precautionary measures are in force,'' Dr Agarwal said. Meanwhile, a 42-year old New Zealander, who arrived in Delhi last night from a Bangkok flight, has been admitted to the isolation ward of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital with suspected SARS. The person, had cough and shortness of breath. His biological sample has been sent to the NICD and report was expected within 48 hours, Dr Agarwal said. All the airports and seaports have already been alerted and doctors are keeping an eye on the people who have SARS symptoms like cough, breathlessness and fever. Also, people coming from various countries have been asked to fill a performa giving details of their health status and whether they had visited any country where SARS has spread. In Malaysia, health officials today announced its seventh probable SARS case. Eleven other people are in hospital with suspected SARS symptoms. Health authorities in South Korea said that four people were suspected of being infected by the deadly virus. The National Institute of Health said the four were under observation in hospitals or at home, but showed no serious symptoms related to SARS. They include an airport quarantine official, two people who had visited China, and a man suffering from a respiratory illness. South Korea has not reported any confirmed SARS case since the deadly virus first emerged in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in November 2002. Malaysia, meanwhile, is lifting a ban imposed last week on tourists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Canada due to SARS, from today. The Malaysian cabinet has decided to lift restrictions for most travellers from five countries hit by SARS, a government official said. It is satisfied with efforts in these countries to contain the SARS virus Malaysia had last week revoked visa-free travel for citizens of Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Canada, and then had imposed a freeze on visas for tourists from those countries, as well as China and Taiwan. The decision to end the freeze would take effect immediately for some countries, and in stages for others, the official added. Travellers from these countries must still apply for visas and be declared free of SARS-linked symptoms. -

Apr 21st, 2003, 03:17	#3
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,577	I passed through Singapore mid-March oblivious to the emerging problem and have been following the story as it develops -- it is daily news here as Canada is a hot-spot. The story gets more complicated, and serious, by the day as more deaths and more cases emerge despite fairly rigorous control attempts. The notion of the 'super-spreader' that can infect a whole floor of a hotel, or the cluster of cases in vertically alligned flats in a HK apartment; even occasional infection of health care workers despite total barrier protection. Conflicting notions of whether this is a rather deadly condition or the frequent reassurances that 'only 3%', or some low figure, become seriously ill (and possibly die) doesn't make me feel much better. Fortunately for me, I'm home and well and, one way or another, this will be cleared up before I hit the road again in November or so. Frankly, I would hesitate subjecting myself to a 12 hr trip in a full plane passing through HK or any Asian hub right now. I guess it was inevitable that SARS would show up in India at some point so it is probably fortunate that there was some warning and that it has arrived in the dry warm season when flu and respiratory problems are at a minimum -- if it had hit N. India during the cold and foggy winter this year, the situation would probably have been much worse. Still, lets hope India and the rest of the world get SARS under control quickly -- a lot of people are being impacted, both by the virus and by the economic chill that it is creating.

Apr 21st, 2003, 03:48	#4
Watson You look, No Problem! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 240	I heard of a theory that the SARS mustation arises from very unhygenic conditions in society which would in some ways explain the breakaout in SE Asia. I just hope and pray that this passes.

Apr 21st, 2003, 10:20	#6
archits Posts: n/a	breaking news.... Times of India Questions raised over veracity of SARS in India KALPANA JAIN NEW DELHI: Some virologists in the country are pressing for a scientific review of the results of SARS tests as they feel Indian Council of Medical Research has not disclosed all details. India's first SARS case baffling, says expert

Apr 25th, 2003, 00:52	#7
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,577	SARS in India is going to be an ongoing story and of some concern to those planning a trip in the near future. Perhaps archits or other Indian members can keep an eye out for pertinent news and keep this, or another SARS thread, updated for us. I would suggest a paragraph summary and a link, in order to keep the size of the thread manageable. Any other ideas?

Apr 25th, 2003, 01:17	#8
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,572	i saw some news in the asian age (london edition) last saturday about delhi airport officials pulling passengers in for tests who had just arrived from singapore. the tests were the following morning forcing passengers to stay in the airport overnight. two worrying aspects: 1, health officials were only pulling up passengers wearing protective masks, thinking they had something to hide, whilst allowing all passengers not wearing masks to pass through unchecked. 2, an indian man who did not want to wait till the morning offered an official Rs1000 and was told he could pass through unchecked as long as he took his mask off.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password