Posted 1:51 PM by Dr. Kay

An invader from space?

Cardiff May 26. SARS may turn out to be an alien invader from outer space, some scientists believe.

Chandra Wickramasinghe, from the University of Cardiff, says there is already evidence that the virus which causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is extraterrestrial.

He warned it could still be circulating high in the atmosphere, and might fall anywhere on Earth without warning. The microbiologist, Milton Wainwright, of Sheffield University agrees.

Mr. Wainwright says the evidence that SARS came from space is the virus's unique character, the fact it was first detected in China, the low rates of infection except through close contact, and the failure to restrict the epidemic. The idea is not as fanciful as it sounds. A small group of respected astrobiologists, led by Prof. Wickramasinghe, believe the idea of bugs and viruses arriving on Earth from space is plausible. They point to ancient and modern major epidemics which appear suddenly and spread in a way that cannot easily be explained.

Examples include the plague of Athens and the devastating influenza pandemic of 1917-19 that killed more people than the First World War. Samples of air taken from 26 miles up in the stratosphere have yielded many microbes, but whether or not they are extraterrestrial is open to question.

Bacterial material

Prof. Wickramasinghe's team estimates that a tonne of bacterial material falls to Earth from space daily — equivalent to 20,000 bacteria per square metre of the Earth's surface. The theory is that extraterrestrial organisms are carried around the solar system by comets or meteorites. — DPA

WHO lifts Hong Kong travel advisory

HONG KONG MAY 23. The fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong took two big steps forward on Friday as the World Health Organisation lifted a travel warning and local researchers announced the disease came from civet cats — a delicacy eaten by some Chinese.

University of Hong Kong researchers said that to prevent more outbreaks of SARS in people, the cats and other game food animals should be raised, slaughtered and sold under careful monitoring. The researchers had previously said SARS came from animals but they had not been sure which kind. Hong Kong had been lobbying for removal of the WHO travel advisory, which has devastated local airlines, hotels and other businesses, and WHO officials said early on Friday in Geneva they had lifted it.

The Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, praised the ``effort of all the people of Hong Kong'' as instrumental in bringing the territory out from under the advisory.

``What we've achieved so far has not been easy,'' Mr. Tung said, adding that Hong Kong needed to redouble its efforts in the continued fight against SARS.

AP