SARS Hits Home
Doctors are scrambling to figure out what the mystery germ is and how to fight it
"Superspreader." Epidemiologists are also investigating how SARS spread through the bustling Singapore market. A 64-year-old worker there died on April 12, after visiting a relative at Singapore General Hospital. Then, two other market employees became ill, as did a taxi driver who took the first man home. Four relatives of market workers became sick, including three of their grandchildren. In an effort to contain this one outbreak, Singapore health officials have issued some 1,200 home quarantine orders.
If the speed and scope of these outbreaks have researchers baffled, the lack of such problems in the United States is equally puzzling. No people have died here, and although 247 cases are under investigation, only about 40 are probably SARS, according to the CDC. "The strain they have in Canada seems to be much more virulent," says Robert Webster, an influenza virus expert at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Some researchers speculate that the outbreaks in Canada and Hong Kong were accelerated by a "superspreader," a person who is much more infectious than most. (One 26-year-old woman in Singapore evidently set off a chain of infections involving more than 100 people when she returned from a trip to Hong Kong in February. Her parents, uncle, and pastor are among the dead.) Others say the United States has just been lucky so far. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, says: "I'd love to know why some people are sicker than others and why there seems to be a high attack rate in some populations, but it's just too early to say."
Spanning the Globe
Since November, the highly contagious disease known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has infected more than 4,000 people and killed some 250 patients in 27 countries.
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North America
The World Health Organization has added Toronto to its list of cities that travelers should avoid.
Asia
SARS appears to have originated in southern China and spread worldwide by jet.
Number of Number of
cases deaths
Australia 4 0
Brazil 2 0
Bulgaria 1 0
Canada 140 16
Toronto
China 2601 115
Hong Kong 1510 115
Taiwan 41 0
France 5 0
Germany 7 0
India 1 0
Indonesia 1 0
Italy 4 0
Japan 2 0
Kuwait 1 0
Malaysia 5 2
Mongolia 3 0
Philippines 2 1
Ireland 1 0
Romania 1 0
Singapore 195 19
South Africa 1 0
Spain 1 0
Sweden 3 0
Switzerland 1 0
Thailand 8 2
Britain 6 0
United States 39 0
Vietnam 63 5
*From Nov. 1, 2002, to April 25, 2003
Source: World Health Organization
Rod Little--USN&WR
Healthy Cautions
DON'T GO THERE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, Singapore, and Hanoi. It has also issued a travel alert for Toronto and lists guidelines to follow.
WASH YOUR HANDS The best defense against SARS is not face masks (which are not 100 percent effective) but frequent, thorough hand washing, either with soap and water or alcohol-based rubs.
FEELING SICK? Call your doctor if you have a fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, along with a cough or difficulty breathing. Although the symptoms can be debilitating, most people recover within a couple weeks.
With Bernadine Healy, Katherine Hobson, Marci McDonald and Amanda Spake
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