Posted 8:42 PM by Dr. Kay

SARS: India back on list

NEW DELHI MAY 8. India is back on the WHO list of countries reporting ``probable cases'' of SARS after being declared SARS-free by the world body on May 1. The WHO's website on SARS mentions one SARS-probable case in India. The WHO had modified the definition of probable cases on May 1.

All the cases reported in the country earlier, despite testing positive for the new corona virus in samples, did not fall into the WHO's previous case definition of ``SARS-probable''. ``We have taken into account one case in Kolkata, who is a SARS-probable according to the WHO's revised definition,'' N. Kumara Rai, WHO's representative here, said.

PTI

SARS epidemic: China closes some border points

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE May 8. China today announced that it has closed its borders with neighbouring countries at certain points and also imposed restrictions on the flow of passengers and goods across some other border crossings.

These measures have been taken in an attempt to control the spiralling crisis following the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the country. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhang Qiyue, restrictions on the movement of people and freight had been imposed in respect of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or the North), China's strategic ally, besides Kazakhstan, a key member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. As for Pakistan, which is China's "all-weather friend and ally'' (in Beijing's parlance), the opening of the Khunjirap point had been "postponed'', she said at a news conference in Beijing today.

Some seasonal border posts between China and Mongolia had been "temporarily closed''.

She underlined that the action had been taken in line with the international practice of closing border points during times of an epidemic or any other catastrophe.

On a separate but related front, even as the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, enunciated a new policy of placing the country's rural areas under the laser beam of anti-SARS efforts by his Government and the Communist Party, the World Health Organisation (WHO) too turned its attention in the same direction. A team of WHO experts arrived today at Baoding, a city in the Hebei province in northern China, to inspect the hospitals designated for SARS patients, it was officially announced by the Chinese authorities.

The team would "investigate'' a whole range of parameters about how the province, said to be on the frontline of rural China's potential SARS crisis, could cope with a possible danger at this stage, it was said on behalf of the WHO.

The organisation also included Taipei (in Taiwan, which China claims as its own) in the list of places to avoid non-essential travel.

Beijing's latest fact sheet on SARS read as follows: the total number of confirmed or probable cases: 4,698; the cumulative total of suspected cases: 2,648; and the death roll: 224.

Mr. Wen, who has been following a hands-on approach in facing the SARS crisis for the past several weeks, on Wednesday ordered all-out efforts to try and prevent the spread of the epidemic.

The ruling Communist Party of China began deploying its cadres in the rural areas in a big way to undertake preventive measures.

First SARS case in Russia

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW MAY 8. Russia appears to have become the world's 30th country to have been hit by SARS virus as the first "almost certain'' case of the disease has been detected on the border with China.

A 25-year-old man hospitalised four days ago in Russia's Far East has been tentatively diagnosed as having SARS, pending laboratory tests, the Russian Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The young man did not travel to China, but has been working in a hotel popular with Chinese traders in the border town of Blagoveshchensk. His condition has been described as grave but stable. So far there have been no confirmed cases of the killer pneumonia in Russia, though more than 20 suspected cases have been reported in regions bordering China. Russian authorities have partially closed the border with China, only allowing Chinese and Russian citizens to return home, and the Government is considering total closure of the gigantic 4,000-odd km border if the situation gets out of hand.

Hundreds of thousands of people do brisk trade under visa-free regime. The Russian Civil Aviation Authority has ordered all airlines to stop selling tickets to China and South-East Asia and be ready for a ban on air links.

Moscow has started disinfecting the metro and other public transportation and is distributing millions of SARS-education brochures to residents to prevent the deadly disease from creeping into the capital.

Medical scientists to discuss SARS strategy

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI May 8. The Centre has proposed to hold a meeting of medical scientists soon to work out a strategy to tackle the new threat posed by SARS — Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

The meeting is being held in the backdrop of fears expressed by public health experts that even if the present epidemic has not had much of an impact in India, one could not remain complacent as the virus causing the disease has been found in the country and outbreaks could not be ruled out.

The Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Manju Sharma, said it would particularly focus on a work plan to develop techniques for early diagnosis. It was likely to be held in about a fortnight.

Ms. Sharma said her department was also taking up a major initiative to promote research in mental health, with a particular focus on age-related degenerative disorders, considering that the proportion of the aged in the population was growing steadily.

Among other things, emphasis is being laid on validating the ayurvedic cures using modern scientific tools. "The Department was trying to tap the rich knowledge base of the traditional medicine systems such as ayurveda."

She was speaking to reporters after a brief ceremony where the Director, National Brain Research Centre, under the Department, Vijayalakshmi Ravindran, and the Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences under the Union Health Ministry, D.N. Nagaraja, signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research on brain-related disorders.

Posted 10:15 PM by Dr. Kay

Clinical Course of SARS Less Aggressive in Children

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 29 - Young children appear to develop a milder form of SARS than adolescents or adults, according to report in April 29th online issue of The Lancet.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has killed more than 350 people and affected 5500 in nearly 30 countries. Although pediatric cases have been reported, so far no children have died from SARS--suggesting that the clinical course is less severe in younger patients.

Dr. T. F. Fok, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues describe the clinical presentation and outcome of the first 10 children who were diagnosed with SARS during the outbreak in Hong Kong. The children included 5 who were no older than 12 years and 5 who were adolescents.

All of the children had contracted the disease after being in close contact with infected adults, the authors note. All of the patients presented with persistent fever and cough.

Nine of the children presented with abnormal chest x-ray findings--usually air-space opacification. The remaining child demonstrated focal consolidation in the right lower lobe on chest CT. Mild progressive consolidative change was noted on follow-up radiographs in all patients, but complete resolution of disease was observed within 2 weeks of presentation.

All of the patients had lymphopenia, but it was usually more severe in the adolescents, the investigators note.

The children were treated with ribavirin, oral prednisolone, or IV methylprednisolone. No short-term adverse effects were observed and such therapy was generally effective in eradicating the disease. Four adolescents required oxygen therapy, including two who needed assisted ventilation. None of the younger children required respiratory assistance.

The findings indicate that the clinical course of SARS in adolescents differs from that seen in younger children, the authors note. Teenage and adult patients present similar symptoms, including malaise, myalgia, chills, and rigor. In contrast, younger children usually present with just cough and runny nose. Radiologic and laboratory abnormalities are also less severe in younger children and resolve more quickly.

Another difference between children and adults with SARS may relate to infectivity. In adults, SARS is associated with a very high infectivity rate. In contrast, in the current study, 8 of the 10 children were attending school at the time of presentation, yet none of their classmates appear to have developed the disease.

Lancet 2003;April 29th online issue:000-000.

Posted 10:06 PM by Dr. Kay

CDC Adds Laboratory Criteria to Case Definition for SARS

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 01 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its interim U.S. surveillance case definition for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to include laboratory evidence of infection with SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV).

Under the new laboratory criteria, a SARS case is laboratory-confirmed if one of the following criteria is met:

Detection of antibody to SARS-CoV by indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Isolation of SARS-CoV in tissue culture.

Detection of SARS-CoV RNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which must be confirmed by a second PCR test.

The CDC emphasizes that a negative PCR, viral culture, or antibody test for SARS-CoV obtained within 21 days of illness does not rule out coronavirus infection. "In these cases, an antibody test of a specimen obtained more than 21 days after illness begins is needed to determine infection," CDC officials note in a statement.

The CDC has also revised the clinical criteria for SARS "to reflect the possible spectrum of respiratory illness associated with SARS-CoV." These clinical criteria include:

Asymptomatic or mild respiratory illness.

Moderate respiratory illness: temp > 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit with one or more of the following: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or hypoxia.

Severe respiratory illness: Same as above, plus radiographic evidence of pneumonia, or respiratory distress syndrome, or autopsy findings consistent with pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome without an identifiable cause.

As of April 30th, 289 SARS cases have been reported in the U.S. from 38 states. Of these, 233 (81%) were classified as suspected cases and 56 (19%) were classified as probable SARS cases (more severe illness with pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome).

Of the 60 cases in which laboratory testing is complete, 6 have laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV and 54 are negative for SARS-CoV infection.

The vast majority of U.S. cases of SARS have been linked to international travel to affected areas. There have been only two instances of secondary transmission to household contacts or healthcare workers.

More information about SARS case definition, travel advisories, and numbers of cases worldwide can be found at the CDC Web site at http://www.cdc.gov.

MMWR 2003;52:388-393.

SARS Virus Found in Recovered Patients

HONG KONG (Reuters) May 01 - Hong Kong physicians have discovered for the first time traces of the SARS virus in the stool and urine of patients thought to be free of the virus and discharged from the hospital, officials said on Thursday.

The news came after physicians in Hong Kong found evidence of permanent lung scarring and possible cases of relapses in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

"Recovered patients have the virus in their stools and urine," David Hui, a doctor treating SARS patients, told Reuters.

Hong Kong's Director of Health told a news conference experts here were now trying to ascertain how long recovered patients in the territory may be passing the virus in their stool and urine. "Most patients spend at least 3 weeks in hospital, they must be clear of any symptoms for 5 days before they can be released," said Margaret Chan, adding that those discharged must remain at home for another 14 days.

Tests were being done to see if recovered patients with the traces of the virus were still infectious.

Authorities said the disease killed another 5 people in the city and infected 11 others on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 162 and cumulative cases to 1600.

Drug Companies Collaborating to Develop SARS Vaccine

LONDON (Reuters Health) Apr 30 - GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday it is collaborating with other companies and France's Institut Pasteur to accelerate development of a possible vaccine against SARS.

"We had a high level meeting with the US government that asked the main vaccine companies to come to the table and give their plans for how to deal with this issue," Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier told reporters. "We committed to accelerate our development of a possible vaccine for SARS."

But Garnier warned this would take time. "This is not a matter of weeks or months, it is matter of years," he said. "It is better to start now because this infection might come back even if it gets contained in the short term. We need to be ready for the next wave, which could be more serious."

He said GSK normally competes against other companies but this time is collaborating to tackle the SARS threat. "We have at least exchange of some of the science. The Institut Pasteur is at the core of this."

Top scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health called companies to the meeting earlier this month.

The other companies included Merck, Wyeth, Chiron, Baxter, Johnson & Johnson, Aventis, Vical, Avant, PowderJect and Berna Biotech.
Of these, 43 patients were discharged from hospital on Thursday, bringing the total number of discharged patients to 834. The government also said 102 recovering patients were in convalescence and were about to be discharged.

The disease has spread to more than 25 countries in the last 2 months, infected more than 6000 people and killed nearly 400 of them since first emerging in southern China in November.

While daily numbers of new infections have fallen over the past week in Hong Kong, news on Wednesday that 12 people had to be readmitted to hospital brought fresh concerns. Six remain in hospital.

It was not clear if the 12 had experienced relapses.

Some physicians told Reuters these patients may not have fully recovered when they were first discharged, or that that their weakened immune systems may have left them vulnerable to secondary infections.

Chan said experts were still trying to pinpoint the cause of the relapses but she stressed that hospitals in Hong Kong were extremely cautious when handling SARS patients.

Posted 8:43 PM by Dr. Kay

SARS Updates

For all the updated information on SARS, please check the following sites as well

SARS Attack - The Hindu

Epidemiological determinants of spread of causal agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong

Christl A Donnelly, Azra C Ghani, Gabriel M Leung, Anthony J Hedley, Christophe Fraser, Steven Riley, Laith J Abu-Raddad, Lai-Ming Ho, Thuan-Quoc Thach, Patsy Chau, King-Pan Chan, Tai-Hing Lam, Lai-Yin Tse, Thomas Tsang, Shao-Haei Liu, James H B Kong, Edith M C Lau, Neil M Ferguson, Roy M Anderson

Summary

Background

Health authorities worldwide, especially in the Asia Pacific region, are seeking effective public-health interventions in the continuing epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We assessed the epidemiology of SARS in Hong Kong.

Methods

We included 1425 cases reported up to April 28, 2003. An integrated database was constructed from several sources containing information on epidemiological, demographic, and clinical variables. We estimated the key epidemiological distributions: infection to onset, onset to admission, admission to death, and admission to discharge. We measured associations between the estimated case fatality rate and patients' age and the time from onset to admission.

Findings

After the initial phase of exponential growth, the rate of confirmed cases fell to less than 20 per day by April 28. Public-health interventions included encouragement to report to hospital rapidly after the onset of clinical symptoms, contact tracing for confirmed and suspected cases, and quarantining, monitoring, and restricting the travel of contacts. The mean incubation period of the disease is estimated to be 6·4 days (95% CI 5·2-7·7). The mean time from onset of clinical symptoms to admission to hospital varied between 3 and 5 days, with longer times earlier in the epidemic. The estimated case fatality rate was 13·2% (9·8-16·8) for patients younger than 60 years and 43·3% (35·2-52·4) for patients aged 60 years or older assuming a parametric g distribution. A non-parametric method yielded estimates of 6·8% (4·0-9·6) and 55·0% (45·3-64·7), respectively. Case clusters have played an important part in the course of the epidemic.

Interpretation

Patients' age was strongly associated with outcome. The time between onset of symptoms and admission to hospital did not alter outcome, but shorter intervals will be important to the wider population by restricting the infectious period before patients are placed in quarantine.

Indian patient in Beijing 'SARS-free'

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE May 7. An Indian patient in Beijing, who figures in China's list of foreigners with suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), has successfully cleared the ``Quick Test''. According to official sources in Beijing, the Indian national, who remains unidentified for reasons of privacy, is still in hospital, pending the results of another diagnostic test that takes about 14 days to complete. The Indian had arrived in Beijing on a visit from North America.

China deploys cadres to check disease

Beijing May 7. China deployed communist party cadres and investigators to monitor the spread of SARS while WHO decided to send a team to a province surrounding Beijing to prevent a rural outbreak of the epidemic as the countrywide toll rose to 219 with five deaths and 159 new cases today.

In a desperate bid to check the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 30,000 investigators were deployed in Haidian district of Beijing to check businesses and residences to look for patients and ensure that measures are being taken to improve hygiene, district official, Zhou Liangluo said.

Each household in the district of 2.2 million people has been issued a thermometer and emergency contact numbers, while offices and businesses were directed to install temperature- monitoring systems.

Reports that migrant workers had ignored government calls and travelled to their rural homes raised concerns over the disease spreading to the hinterland.

``All entry and exit points in rural Beijing are now controlled by cadres who have been assigned the task by the ruling Communist party,'' Cai Fuchao, the director of publicity department of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday it will send experts to China's northern province of Hebei to investigate a spreading SARS outbreak, while Premier, Wen Jiabao, called for urgent efforts to stop the disease in poor rural areas.

The reports came amid growing worries that severe acute respiratory syndrome, still largely an urban disease in China, might be spreading into the countryside.

— AP, PTI

SARS: new method gives hope

HONG KONG MAY 6. Even as doctors said some SARS victims responded well to a treatment of antibodies from recovered patients, the World Health Organization outlined conditions on Tuesday for removing a warning against travel to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong desperately wants to see WHO lift the advisory that has hit the territory's airlines, hotels, restaurants and retailers with millions of dollars in losses.

Toll 193

Hong Kong reported six more deaths on Tuesday, people in their 70s and 80s, pushing its toll to 193. There were nine new SARS cases, keeping figures in the single digits for a third consecutive day. The Geneva-based WHO told Hong Kong officials in a video conference that the number of new cases needed to come down further before the travel advisory could be eliminated. Hong Kong now has more than 400 people hospitalised with SARS, but the WHO said it wants to see only about 60 active cases, sources said. The WHO also wants to see the number of new cases average no more than five a day over a period of three consecutive days, and Hong Kong needs to stop transmission of the disease in the general population. — AP

Hong Kong has reported 1,646 SARS cases, but 958 people have recovered and been discharged. The hospitals have typically given SARS victims a combination of the anti-viral medicine Ribavirin and steroids, but physicians at the hard-hit Prince of Wales Hospital have tried other treatments on those who kept deteriorating. The doctors divided 40 such patients into two groups and gave about half of them serum containing antibodies from recovered victims, while the rest got a higher dose of steroids.

— AP

Indian in Beijing SARS list

By P. S. Suryanarayana

BEIJING MAY 6. ``One person from India is now receiving medical treatment'' in Beijing as a ``suspected case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome'', according to an official of the Communist Party of China, Cai Fuchao.

Briefing reporters, he said two other overseas residents of the city were declared SARS-free after diagnosis. The Indian patient was not identified.

Another foreigner, apparently on a visit to the city, was still in hospital. A visiting official of the International Labour Organisation, Pekka Aro, died of SARS in China last month.

Chinese being treated for SARS

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MAY 6. A 28-year-old Chinese national was admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital here today after she reported to a private hospital with symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Her tests, according to the Director-General of Health Services control room, are under way.

Meanwhile, doctors have warned that people should go soft on high fever and avoid strong non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Nimesulide which can cause a sudden drop in the body temperature and mask the symptoms of SARS.

Also, experts treating SARS patients the world over have issued a warning against the use of NSAIDs. Such medicines are found to suppress the symptoms of SARS, like high fever and body ache and may delay proper diagnosis and prognosis of SARS.

Expressing concern at use of wrong medicines, the Editor of the Monthly Index of Medical Specialities, C.M. Gulati, said: "In the initial stages, signs and symptoms of SARS are similar to those of flu, fever, bad throat and body aches. However, respiratory disorder occurs later."

SARS unabated in China; toll 206

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE May 5. China today registered a psychologically critical index in the ongoing battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) when the death roll crossed 200. Mainland China acknowledged toll of 206 as against a total of over 4,200 confirmed cases.

While the death roll as a ratio of the total number of cases was not as alarming as in some other places, China's concerns centred on the reality that there was as yet no sign of any abatement of the menace on the mainland. A matter of some relief in this gloomy situation was that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China recorded a single-digit figure of incremental cases for yet another day. The diminishing incidence of the disease was noted for the first time yesterday. Yet, Hong Kong's toll today stood at over 170.

In Taiwan too, the situation worsened, with the territory reporting a total of 10 deaths so far. The SARS-related situation in Singapore remained somewhat stable for yet another day.

Posted 12:32 PM by Dr. Kay

SARS: China extends school vacation

BEIJING MAY 4. China announced on Sunday that elementary and middle schools in Beijing would remain closed for two more weeks to help prevent the spread of SARS, affecting over a million students, as Taipei's mayor warned that violators of home quarantine orders would be strictly punished.

Two doctors from the World Health Organisation arrived in Taiwan to help cope with its worsening SARS outbreak after China put aside politics and agreed to the visit. The number of probable cases in Taiwan has surged in the past 10 days to 116, including eight fatalities.Twelve new SARS deaths were reported on Sunday in East Asia — seven in mainland China and five in Hong Kong. But the number of new infections in Hong Kong was just eight, as numbers of new cases in the territory decline steadily. Globally, the disease has killed 448 and sickened more than 6,300.

A Malaysian freighter heading for mainland China from Thailand made an emergency stop in Hong Kong on Sunday after 10 Indian sailors aboard complained of SARS-like symptoms. But the sick seamen underwent tests and doctors said they were clear of SARS. Meanwhile, hospital officials said none of the 12 recovered Hong Kong SARS patients who became ill again had suffered relapses, as had been feared earlier.

Eight have already been discharged, and though the patients had reported symptoms including fevers that are common in SARS victims, all were sick with something else, said Dr. Liu Shao-haei, senior executive manager of the Hospital Authority.

In Australia, a Qantas flight attendant was being treated at a Sydney hospital for suspected SARS, a hospital spokesman said.

— AP

SARS-scare for Indian sailors

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE May 4. Ten sailors of a Malaysian-registered cargo vessel, all of them Indian nationals, were declared free of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on Sunday night after first being rushed to a hospital in Hong Kong. They were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital earlier in the day, following a scare that they might have caught the SARS-causing virus while on a voyage.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China announced late on Sunday night that the Indian seamen, who were subjected to medical tests and kept under observation, were discharged from the hospital and sent back to their vessel. X-rays and blood tests "confirmed that they had not contracted the (SARS) virus,'' the Hong Kong authorities said.

Earlier, the 10 Indian seamen were transferred to the hospital after the ship, `Bunga Melawis Satu,' was allowed to "moor'' off the Lamma Island. This followed a decision by Hong Kong to respond positively to an urgent "distress call'' from the captain of the vessel, also an Indian who was not among the 10 who took ill while at sea. Those who were hustled to hospital had complained of some symptoms common for several infectious diseases, including the SARS. The vessel was on its way towards South China Sea after having made port calls in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Acceding to the captain's request, Hong Kong intimated the World Health Organisation about the SARS scare. Fourteen persons out of the 24-strong crew — all but two of them being Indians — were allowed to remain on the ship, throughout the tense drama, after the Hong Kong health staff thoroughly examined them.

However, all those who were cleared of the SARS symptoms aboard the ship were still quarantined or "isolated'' on the vessel itself for a period of 10 days. The ship, too, was placed under maritime "surveillance.'' Even as the hospitalised seamen were discharged, there was no indication when the ship could set sail again.

Suspected SARS patient to file defamation suit

By Our Staff Reporter

JAMMU MAY 4. A person with suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), who was discharged after the National Institute of Communicable diseases, New Delhi, confirmed that she was free of it, has decided to file a defamation suit against the hospital "for blowing the incident out of proportion".

Maliti Singh of Nagpur was admitted to Katra hospital on May 1 when she complained of respiratory problem after returning from the Vaishnodevi temple here.

Later, the hospital referred her to the Government Medical College here where she was treated as the State's first suspected SARS patient.

Alarm bells began to ring and pilgrims thronged the information centres to enquire about the possibility of them catching the disease.

Now, that Ms. Singh has been declared free of SARS, her husband, J.P. Singh, has decided to file a defamation suit against the doctors after reaching Nagpur.

"There was not even a single symptom of SARS in my wife, but doctors admitted her to hospital which led to the harassment of the whole family'', he said adding that they (doctors) blew the incident out of proportion to "get publicity".

The suspicion about his daughter, who had recently returned from Australia, had no ground as neither any case of SARS had been detected in Australia nor had she tested positive on her arrival at the airport.

SARS in India

70 foreigners quarantined (20030505) New



Suspected SARS patient to file defamation suit (20030505) New


2 more test SARS-positive (20030504)


SARS: Australian quarantined (20030504)



`SARS wards needed, despite WHO declaration' (20030504)


Health Minister clarifies (20030504)


SARS — a full-blown farce? (20030504)



How it spreads (20030504)


Fear over the nation (20030504)


Breathing easy now (20030504)


SARS patient discharged from CMC Hospital (20030503)



Three hospitalised 'for SARS' (20030503)


No SARS case in India as per WHO definition: Minister (20030502)


`An irresponsible act' (20030502)


IMA to launch SARS sensitising programme (20030502)



SARS incidence tapering off? (20030502)


SARS: 9 test positive (20030501)


Hospital staff quarantined in Pune (20030501)


SARS: Results of blood tests yet to arrive (20030501)



SARS: `no need for panic' (20030501)


High-level panel to combat SARS (20030430)


Vellore patient tests positive (20030430)


Two more test positive for SARS (20030429)



Pilots' stir may be declared illegal (20030429)


12 chargesheeted (20030429)


SARS paranoia grips city residents (20030429)


SARS: more security masks arriving (20030429)



Tiruchi airport on high SARS alert (20030429)


Singapore-bound AI flights cancelled (20030429)


Air India hardens stand, suspends 15 more pilots (20030428)


Reports of 13 SARS cases awaited (20030428)



Isolation of SARS suspects `not up to the mark' (20030428)


AI flights cancelled (20030428)


SARS alert in hill stations (20030428)


AI suspends dozen pilots (20030427)



3 more SARS cases, total 7 (20030427)


Concern over Mumbai patient (20030427)


Steps taken to tackle SARS: Kagodu (20030427)


No confirmed SARS cases in State (20030427)



Quarantined family shows no SARS symptom: Collector (20030427)


SARS alarm: AI flights in disarray (20030426)


7 more samples received for testing for SARS (20030426)


Test for SARS proves negative (20030426)



Patient unlikely to have infection (20030426)


SARS family quarantined (20030426)


Anthrax death? (20030426)


Two cases in Kerala? (20030426)



Govt. announces tough measures to tackle SARS (20030425)


SARS affects growth projections in Asia (20030425)


Steps on to fight SARS, says IATA (20030425)


Centre to discuss SARS with IMA (20030424)



2 with SARS symptoms quarantined (20030424)


Centre convenes meet on SARS tomorrow (20030423)


Fernandes to be screened (20030423)


SARS case: Search on for taxi driver (20030423)



Three SARS cases in Pune (20030422)


SARS patient weds, guests quarantined (20030422)


SARS suspects test negative for virus (20030421)


Another SARS case in India (20030420)



`Tests done on all suspected SARS cases' (20030420)


SARS patient discharged (20030419)


SARS orientation programme for nursing staff (20030419)


India's first SARS case found in Goa (20030418)



WHO clarifies on SARS (20030418)


Drug shortage hampers efforts to tackle SARS (20030418)

International scene

SARS-scare for Indian sailors (20030505) New



Health Minister clarifies (20030504)


SARS situation stabilises (20030503)


SARS virus genome sequenced (20030502)


Man of Indian origin dies of SARS (20030501)



SARS 'remains severe' in Beijing, says Mayor (20030501)


China, ASEAN plan to fight epidemic (20030430)


Vietnam may be removed from SARS list (20030429)


SARS impact — ADB assessment (20030429)



SARS: U.S. offers China help (20030428)


SARS crisis: Potential threat to Asian economy (20030428)


China names Vice-Premier to tackle pandemic (20030427)


SARS shadow over Cannes (20030427)



Singapore clamps down on violations (20030426)


SARS spread: Singapore to punish violators (20030426)


Situation turns grim as toll goes up (20030425)


Fatalities soar, China closes schools (20030424)



Worldwide SARS fatalities rise to 217 (20030423)

Editorials & Articles

SARS wars (20030428)


The SARS scare (20030419)

Medical & General Information

Eat papaya & `tulsi' to ward off SARS, says Jayalalithaa (20030501)


Facts about SARS (20030430)


'Tulsi can cure SARS' (20030427)



Anthrax: experts begin investigation (20030427)


SARS Information: Round-the-clock helpline soon (20030427)


SARS: Health dept. issues guidelines (20030426)


'No need to panic over SARS' (20030426)