Flu ( incl Swine, Bird etc ) 01 (Apr 09 - Sep 12)

Re: H Animal & Bird Flu 01 (Apr 09 - Sep 12)

Postby winston » Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:59 am

Possible SARS alert: What you should know

A new coronavirus has infected two people between July and September this year. One, a Saudi Arabian has died and the other, a 49-year-old Qatari man, is in intensive care in London. The World Health Organization said a few more cases are being investigated.

The information below from the UK’s Health Protection Agency, answers some basic questions related to the new virus.

Is this similar to SARS?

SARS was also caused by a coronavirus but this is not SARS. Coronaviruses can cause a range of symptoms varying from mild symptoms such as the common cold to more serious respiratory illnesses. The two laboratory confirmed cases have experienced a serious respiratory illlness which makes it similar to SARS in this respect.


What are coronaviruses?

They are a group of viruses causing respiratory infections in humans and animals. There are three main sub-groupings of coronaviruses, known as alpha, beta and gamma.


What type of coronavirus is this?

This is the first time this particular strain of coronavirus has been identified in the UK and only the second time in the world – in both cases the infection was acquired in the Middle East. The virus was identified by the Health Protection Agency's virus reference laboratories at Colindale.

It is genetically the same as one recently isolated in a laboratory in Saudi Arabia, which was then confirmed and its genetic material sequenced in a laboratory in the Netherlands. As it has only been recently described, and this is only the second laboratory confirmed case, there is limited information on clinical impact, transmission and severity at this stage.


What are the main symptoms?

The virus has so far only been identified in two cases of acute, serious respiratory illness who presented with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.

At this point it is not clear whether these cases are typical of infection with this virus or whether it could be circulating more widely, but causing a milder illness, and only very rarely causing a severe illness.


What is the treatment?

We do not have enough information yet to make specific treatment recommendations. However, acute respiratory support for those with severe symptoms and who have been hospitalised would be advised.


How do you catch this infection?

Coronaviruses are typically spread like other respiratory infections such as influenza. This infection is therefore likely to be passed from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes, though much is unknown at this stage.


How contagious is it?

Tranmission appears to be very limited as, if it were very contagious, we would have expected to have seen more cases in other countries or the people caring for these two cases, the first of which occurred over three months ago.

With any newly identified virus, that may be associated with severe illness, it is better to err on the side of caution. All infection control precautions to prevent the spread of this virus are therefore being taken in the case of the London patient with the confirmed diagnosis. This includes isolation of the patient, barrier nursing and making sure that all staff wear the appropriate protective equipment.

Coronaviruses are fairly fragile, and outside of the body their survival time is only around 24 hours. They are easily destroyed by usual detergents and cleaning agents.


Is there a vaccine for this?

No, a vaccine is not available.


Source: The Standard HK
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"
User avatar
winston
Billionaire Boss
 
Posts: 118541
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 9:28 am

Re: H Animal & Bird Flu 01 (Apr 09 - Sep 12)

Postby winston » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:39 pm

Bird Flu killing ducks and chickens in Vietnam.

2000 birds have been culled already.


Source: Aljazeera
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"
User avatar
winston
Billionaire Boss
 
Posts: 118541
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 9:28 am

Previous

Return to Archives

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests