Guest Labtec Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 "SARS claimed a 99-year-old man as its 14th victim in Toronto and left Sunnybrook hospital's trauma unit isolated and closed to new patients today, amid warnings that the virus is already taking a heavier toll on younger, otherwise healthy patient." If you carefully read the above passage, taken from the Star's website, a 99 year old man has died of SARS. The guy should be dead; he's 99. Then they go on to say the virus is taking a heavier toll on the young! The author gives evidence of a very very old man succumbing to the illness and then they say its taking a heavy toll on the young. Which is it? Granted you have to go on to read the rest of the story for the supporting evidence for the second assertion, but man these people are starting to piss me off. 113 people dead WORLDWIDE! I am thinking of going to Hong Kong on a matter of principle. More people died last week in the United States from slips and falls in their bathtubs. Labtec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CabinDweller Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JW Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 This has been around for a while, it appears to me. ========= quote... The elderly are more susceptible to pneumonia than younger populations. The prevalence of both disability and comorbid diseases increase with age and are associated with increased risk of pneumonia. Therefore, the elderly constitute a growing proportion of those at risk. The known independent risk factors for pneumonia include alcoholism, asthma, immunosuppression, heart disease, institutionalization, and age greater than 70. .... Influenza pneumonia carries a higher incidence of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Eighty percent of deaths in the most recent influenza epidemics occurred in those that are 65 years and older.[8] This is due to secondary respiratory infections occurring mostly in those with underlying comorbid illnesses. Patients with pneumonia who require hospitalization are more likely to develop complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and sepsis. They frequently need mechanical ventilation, resulting in a longer hospital stay. Death rates from pneumococcal pneumonia are estimated to be 3 to 5 times greater in the elderly when compared with young adults.[1] It is estimated that one billion dollars per year are being spent on medical therapy to combat bacterial pneumonia in the elderly. Severe Pneumonia in the Elderly: Risks, Treatment, and Prevention Author: Hugh A. Cassiere, MD, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JW Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 Evaluation, Risk Stratification, and Current Antimicrobial Treatment Guidelines for Hospital-Based Management of CAP: Outcome-Effective Strategies Based on New NCCLS Breakpoints and Recent Clinical Studies — The ASCAP Panel* Consensus Report, 2002 Editor-in-Chief’s Note— A common cause for admission to the hospital, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a serious, growing health problem in the United States. It has an incidence estimated at 5.6 million cases annually.(1,2) Approximately 1.7 million hospitalizations for CAP are reported each year at an annual cost of about $23 billion.(1,3) The elderly consume the majority of these expenses, account for the majority of CAP-related hospitalizations, and have longer lengths of stay. Mortality rates among the most seriously affected patients with CAP (the majority of whom are in the geriatric age group) approaches 40%, and causative pathogens are identified in fewer than 50% of patients.(4) Accordingly, empiric antibiotic regimens frequently are chosen in hospitalized patients with CAP on the basis of results of clinical trials and expert panel recommendations. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 "If you carefully read the above passage, taken from the Star's website, a 99 year old man has died of SARS. The guy should be dead; he's 99." Perhaps someone will decide that your continued existence is of little benefit to the whole of society and..... It's very clear, when it at least comes to this disease...you just don't get it. This bug is a highly mutagenic virus meaning it has the potential to become the "spanish flu" of the modern era. It's always better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool than open it and prove the point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Labtec Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 How many people do you know with the disease? I don't know a single person. Believe what you want. Be led arround by the nose by the media like a sheep. Just remember that sheep get slaughtered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Labtec Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 Deaf Con: How many people do you know with the disease? I don't know a single person. Nevertheless, you're probably that same guy that walks through the corral at the bank or the fast food restaraunt when there is no one in line. Keep up the fair work. Believe what you want. You seem comfortable being led around by the nose by the media like a sheep. Just remember that sheep get slaughtered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jetblast Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 "More people died last week in the United States from slips and falls in their bathtubs." Slips and falls in the tub aren't contagious. Those that are mobility challenged can install grab bars, take a shower, or take other measures to protect themselves. With SARS, there is no easy way to protect oneself. THis is a very dangerous disease with global consequences not seen in a hundred years. If there was ever a reason to lobby your MP, this is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JW Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 Hmmm...I believe that the original post was trying to point out that POSSIBLY the reaction to the virus is not quite in proportion to the risk demonstrated so far. This has been around since late October 2002 - and relatively few people have contracted the disease or died from it. When one considers that 4M people have AIDS we spend relatively little attention to that. Most of the risk is currently in Africa it appears. It's important to pay attention to the disease. It's also important to avoid hysterical reactions. ...imo! JW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M. McRae Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 Seems that where there is smoke, there is fire. Looks like under reporting is the name of the game in China. China Reports Spike in SARS, Fires Senior Officials Sun April 20, 2003 01:15 PM ET By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - China fired its health minister and Beijing's mayor on Sunday after reporting an alarming spike in SARS deaths and cases in the capital, a tacit admission that officials had earlier hidden the extent of the disease. Chinese authorities said at least 12 more people were killed and 300 more were infected by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus, almost all in Beijing. They also canceled the week-long May Day holiday to discourage people from traveling and further spreading the disease. Elsewhere, authorities in Hong Kong said seven more people had died and 22 more were infected, taking the death toll in the city to 88, the highest in the world. Singapore closed down one of the city-state's largest vegetable markets after three workers there were infected by the disease, but did not report any new fatalities. China's new SARS figures represented a tenfold increase in the number of cases in Beijing and appeared to back criticism that officials, initially at least, had tried to hide the extent of the disease. Authorities also said there were an additional 402 suspected cases of SARS in Beijing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Labtec Posted April 20, 2003 Share Posted April 20, 2003 The media, in my view, have blown this out of proportion. Your analogy to Aids is a great one. It has devastated an entire continent. For North Americans as long as it doesn't affect us we don't care. As soon as something minor does affect us immediately the world is going to end. The level of hysteria surrounding this "outbreak" is unbelievable. The SARS panic has caused more than just a few 99 year old men to succumb to its effects. It is threatening our economy and I am sure the perceived threat is causing stress in the lives of people and creating the foundation for them to become sick as a result. Not with SARS mind you, but other stress related ailments. I think that it is about managing risk. When you climb into the cockpit do you constantly think about all of the accidents that have occured in aviation? Do you think today I may have a catastrophic failure? Of course not. The risk is slight. The media are effectively replaying Sioux City Iowa over and over. The effect is that people begin to think that it is a normal occurence. When it is anything but typical. Labtec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rollingrock Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 labtec i believe your first post was meant to lighten the mood (he should be dead anyways at 99)as opposed to all the doom and gloom in the media... so defcon needs to chill out abit. you made some great points and lets face it nothing sells papers like a good old fashiones global epedemic. p.s when do you want to go to hong king...and no masks allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 "It's also important to avoid hysterical reactions." Agreed however, should SARS become a serious epidemic the public reaction may very well become hysterical especially towards the authorities responsible for public health. The virus "believed" to be responsible for SARS is highly mutagenic in its natural form and that's not considering the potential of a bio-engineered variant. By virtue of its natural design it will become considerably more virulent and efficient with regard to propagation (aerosol etc.) as it passes from host to host. Regardless of its origin it has the very real potential to quickly evolve (months?) into a form that proves lethal to a substantial percentage of those so infected. If this was just another relatively benign "bug" why do you suppose the experts at WHO and later the CDC pushed the alarm button? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Bio terrorism? Rather than the Big Bug as suggested by the Yanks and Tom Clancy, perhaps the slow virulent GM virus such as this is enough to send the world economy into the toilet. After all, the real effects of 9-11 weren't felt in the hearts and minds of Americans, it was their pocketbooks that bore the ultimate hit. Canadians suffered collateral damage on our own stock markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rollingrock Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 don't you think that gives terrorists more credit than they deserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Don't you think the perp's of 9-11 were well organized and prepared with several plans? Just playing the devil's advocate here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rollingrock Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 they certainly were well organised on 9/11 and we should always be on guard. I just feel that whenever the media or us gives them "credit" for things they had nothing to do with (like sars)it makes them happy, and fuels more fear. I do believe sars can be a serious threat, but is a natural occuring health problem, not bioterrorism. Viruses,flus and plagues have been around long before terrorist especially in heavily populated areas. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Thanks for that, and I agree wholeheartedly with your comments re the media. Oddly enough though, I have not seen/heard any possible reference in the media comparing this to a bio attack. Either they are not sophisticated enough to tie together the possibility of events, or they are "in on it" and not publicizing speculation in order not to panic the world population. Because that is what would happen, I think. I too doubt the sophistication of most groups in this particular instance but the possibility remains, in my opinion. Interestingly enough, the CDC identified the pathogen rather quickly which on the surface is good news. Maybe they were waiting for such an outbreak. All of this is idle speculation: the stuff of conspiracy theory! Still, food for thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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