Posted 11:55 AM by Dr. Kay

SARS: scientists claim breakthrough

PARIS MAY 14. Dutch researchers say they have carried out the last three lab tests needed under a venerable scientific benchmark to confirm that SARS is caused by a coronavirus. A test procedure known as Koch's Postulates is traditionally used by medical scientists to establish whether a specific virus has caused a disease.

The goal is to cross-check: to ensure that the disease can be clearly pinpointed to that virus and not to other pathogens that may lurk in samples taken from patients.

The first three criteria — isolating the virus from diseased hosts; cultivating it in host cells; and proving that the agent passes through a lab filter that traps bacteria, which are bigger than viruses — have already been met.

Scientists in Rotterdam say they have now successfully carried out the three other Koch tests.

These are: inducing the disease in the same or comparable host; re-isolating the pathogen from the sick animals; and detecting a specific response to the virus from the body's immune system.

The Osterhaus team used macaque monkeys as a close relative to human species to carry out the trio of experiments.

The research could be the final blow to early lab work in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak that suggested another agent was to blame - a paramyxovirus, which is related to the virus that causes mumps and measles. — AFP

Fight against SARS: anti-cold drug raises hopes

By N. Gopal Raj

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM MAY 14. An anti-cold drug, currently in clinical trials, could probably be modified so that it is effective against the SARS virus, say researchers in Germany.

The German group, which includes two Indians, has studied the structure of the "Main proteinase'' (Mpro) enzyme which plays an important role in the replication of coronaviruses and is therefore attractive as a potential drug target. Their findings are published in the journal, Science.

Kanchan Anand and her colleagues have examined the crystal structure of the Mpro enzyme from a human coronavirus (HCoV) which causes the common cold. They had earlier studied the structure of a pig coronavirus' Mpro. Based on the close similarity of the SARS virus' Mpro to those of the HCoV and the pig virus, the researchers were able to construct a reliable three-dimensional model for the SARS-CoV enzyme.

They then looked at the binding between the pig coronavirus' Mpro and a chemical which inhibits it. Combining this information with their structure of the SARS-CoV Mpro, the German group has suggested that AG7088, a drug currently in clinical trials against the human rhinovirus (one of the causes of the common cold), could be suitably modified to effectively block the SARS virus enzyme.

As there were "some minor clashes'' between AG7088 and the structure of the SARS coronavirus enzyme, the inhibitor was unlikely to be suitable in its present form as a drug against SARS, observes Rolf Hilgenfeld, senior author of the paper from the University of Leubeck in Germany. But since AG7088 is already in clinical trials and there were no cellular enzymes with which it was interfering, the prospects for developing a broad-spectrum antiviral drug were good, the paper noted.

Meanwhile, an international team of researchers has conclusively established that SARS-CoV is indeed what causes the SARS illness. Robert Koch, founder of modern bacteriology, had laid down four conditions, which had to be satisfied to prove that a bacterium was the causative agent of an illness. Two more conditions were subsequently added in the case of viruses.

Three of these conditions have already been satisfied in the case of SARS-CoV, namely isolation of the virus from the diseased hosts, cultivation in host cells and proof of filterability.

A paper being published in the coming issue of Nature says that the remaining three conditions have now been fulfilled. Macaque monkeys infected with the SARS virus derived from a cell culture became ill. The same virus later could be isolated from the monkey's respiratory tract excretions. The monkeys also developed antibodies against the virus.

The SARS coronavirus, therefore, fulfilled all the Koch postulates as the primary cause of SARS. "But this does not exclude the possibility that other pathogens, including human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and Chlamydia pneumoniae, may have exacerbated the disease in some patients,'' the paper added.

Posted 7:52 PM by Dr. Kay

China reports drop in SARS cases

BEIJING MAY 12. Highlighting the potential of SARS to become a global problem, Canadian officials angrily rejected any suggestion that a Finnish man contracted the disease in Toronto, which says its outbreak is under control.

In China, the likely place of origin, the officials maintained strict measures as infection rates continue to drop.

The international death toll from SARS was at least 538 on Monday, when Taiwan reported two new deaths. One victim was a dentist in southern Kaohsiung, an indication that the illness has spread from the north of the island. The location of the other death was not disclosed.

In Taipei, people were complying with a Government order to wear masks on the city's subway. Also Taiwanese authorities are keeping a watch over about 8,000 people quarantined in their homes in case they have contracted the illness. So far, 184 people have been infected in Taiwan, and 21 have died.

In Finland, the University of Turku Central Hospital said a Finnish man who had been on vacation in SARS-hit Toronto in late April had contracted the illness.

It said the patient was recovering well, and that no one who had been in contact with him had shown any of the disease's symptoms.— AP

SARS-free Indian patient stuck in Beijing hospital

BEIJING MAY 12. An Indian national, who was admitted to a hospital here after showing some SARS-like symptoms, is stuck in the isolation ward, even though doctors have diagnosed that he has not contracted the deadly disease.

After initially treating him as a suspected case of the disease, doctors at the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) have now diagnosed that he is suffering from typhoid fever, a rare bacterial infection not found in China. However, since he was admitted to the PUMC, a SARS-designated hospital for foreigners here, he cannot be shifted to a regular hospital for routine treatment of typhoid fever. ``Though I don't have SARS, I am stuck in the isolation ward which is designated for SARS patients,'' the Indian man, who did not want to be identified, told PTI over phone. ``Since my family in India would be horrified to know that I am stuck in a SARS-designated hospital, I don't want to be named,'' the man, who hails from North India, said.

Posted 8:54 PM by Dr. Kay

Anti-viral agents developed

Beijing May 11 . A team of scientists in Hong Kong and the United States today claimed to have developed synthetic peptides — anti-viral agents — that are expected to block the entry of coronavirus into human cells, promising a new treatment for SARS patients world-wide.

The team of scientists from the University of Hong Kong and David Ho, an international expert on HIV treatment, said initial lab results indicated that the synthetic peptide was quite effective in blocking the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus from entering into cultured cells.

Peptides are groups of amino acids that have been used in AIDS treatment.

However, Hong Kong scientists stressed that the development of the synthetic peptide represented only initial results and much more had to be done before its clinic use.

Zhang Linqi, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre Staff investigator who is also a member of the research team, said protein sequencing indicated that the SARS virus and HIV virus were similar in space structure and ways of attacking human cells.

Mr. Zhang said by blocking the SARS virus from entering into the human cells, the synthetic peptide can be applied for either treatment of patients or prevention of SARS from inflicting ordinary people if tests on animals and human beings proved effective, Xinhua news agency reported from Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party secretary for Beijing is calling for ``total victory'' against SARS, warning officials not to relax disease-fighting efforts despite falling numbers of new cases in the hard-hit Chinese capital, newspapers reported on Sunday.

``We can't allow the slightest relaxation in the fight against SARS in May,'' the party newspaper People's Daily quoted Liu Qi as telling Beijing officials on Saturday in a video conference. — PTI/AP

15 tested for SARS in Manipal

Manipal May 9. Fifteen people who came in contact with a CEO of an Indo-Malaysian joint venture, whose blood samples tested positive for the SARS virus, have been subjected to medical examination here.

``Over 15 persons including doctors and nurses who attended a conference in which the CEO participated have been tested for SARS virus,'' the Udupi District Health Officer, Chandramouli, told PTI today.

The CEO, who arrived from Malaysia last month, was the first person to test positive.

SARS shadow over Cannes fete

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

PARIS MAY 9. The Cannes International Film Festival, beginning next week, is facing a typically French menace: a nationwide public workers' strike on May 13.

After the battered Franco-American relations over Iraq and the still hot SARS scare, the strike will undoubtedly be a major irritant for thousands of people from across the globe sitting on Cannes-bound trains and planes just a day ahead of the Festival's opening night on May 14. The strike, which is bound to affect the French national railway company (SNFC) and even private firms such as Air France, is a protest against the Government's move to add three more years to one's working life.

Although one is not sure how widely the strike will be observed, the Festival's managing director, Veronique Cayla, has a word of advice for participants: "Try and travel on May 12 or 14... Avoid May 13."

This is a typical French reaction. Although strikes occur frequently in France, admittedly with varying impacts on everyday life, the people here tend to be over cautious. They stay at home, away from work, rather than be harassed by delays on road, on rail or in air as well as by overcrowded public transport systems.

In addition to the planned strike nuisance, there is this medical test. Ms. Cayla said moviemakers and others from SARS-hit Asian countries would have to undergo health checks before they could attend the Festival.

Teams from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have agreed to the examination for their own peace of mind, and that of the others.

Some such as the Chinese actor, Jiang Wen, who is on the main international jury, will travel to France early so that the medical test can be completed well in time.

Ms. Cayla felt that the final number of Asians at the Festival could go down because of the fear of the impending inconvenience.

Although press reports here talk of medical tests at the French airports, this correspondent who arrived from New Delhi the other day found nothing of the kind happening at Paris' Charles de Gaulle terminal. Was it all because of the WHO's clean chit to India? One can never tell.

The same press reports also talk about such checks being in place at Nice, the airport for Cannes, though no flights from Asia arrive there non-stop. This "scare" may well be yet another classic case of media-hype.