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Journalism of Courage
About 10 per cent of SARS survivors appear to be left with lung damage that renders them unable to perform routine tasks without struggling for breath, doctors in Hong Kong reported on Saturday.
The report comes just days after the WHO doubled its estimate of the death rate from SARS to about 15 per cent overall. ‘‘The numbers are pretty nasty,’’ said Ian Simpson, a spokesman for the WHO. ‘‘It’s less infectious than a disease like influenza but has a more serious impact on those who do get infected.’’
| • A team of scientists in Hong Kong and US claim to have developed synthetic peptides — anti-viral agents — expected to block entry of coronavirus into human cells, promising a new treatment for SARS world-wide. • Chinese plane with 100 passengers turned back by Russia as part of the country’s emergency action to prevent spread of SARS. • China’s jails ban meeting between prisoners and relatives to stave off spread of SARS. • Over 300 residents rioted against construction of a SARS clinic in northern China, at least nine have been arrested. • University of California, Berkeley to allow 80 students from HK, China and Taiwan to attend summer school. (Agencies) |
Since SARS is so new, some of the basic information about the illness, is unknown. But the first answers have begun to become clear in recent weeks as doctors have got more experience with the illness.
During a news briefing on Saturday in Hong Kong, doctors and public health officials provided the most detailed description yet of the new lung infection’s typical course.
In their assessment, Hong Kong health authorities said SARS follows a pattern with three distinct phases, each lasting about a week. In the first, ‘‘viral replicative phase,’’ the virus reproduces rapidly in a victim’s body, causing a high fever and flu-like symptoms. During this stage, doctors in Hong Kong have been prescribing the antiviral drugs ribavirin and kaletra, although neither has been proved effective.
In the second, ‘‘immune hyperactive phase,’’ a victim’s immune system recognises the invasive microbe and mounts a counterattack. Doctors now believe that much of the damage caused by the infection is not the result of the virus destroying lung cells directly but of tissue destruction due to immune response. ‘‘The immune system is damaging the lung tissue,’’ said Yeoh Eng-kiong, Hong Kong’s secretary for health, welfare and food.
As a result, doctors in Hong Kong have begun giving patients steroids during this phase, instead of immediately, as they had been doing. Hong Kong doctors believe the steroids may minimise lung damage by damping down the immune system’s response. The practice, however, is unproven, and other experts have advised against it, saying it may be dangerous.
About 80 per cent of patients recover after the second phase, but the remaining 20 per cent go on to a third, life-threatening ‘‘pulmonary destruction phase.’’ That is when patients experience intense lung tissue damage. (LAT-WP)
