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News excerpt from Yahoo Singapore.
Airports, hospitals on alert for killer pneumonia
By Tan Ee Lyn
HONG KONG, March 17 (Reuters) - Airports and hospitals around the world were on alert on Monday for carriers of a severe type of pneumonia that has killed nine people, infected more than 100 and is being spread across the globe by air travellers.
South Korea has become the latest country to warn its citizens against travelling unnecessarily to mainland China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, where most of the infections have occurred. Singapore and Taiwan issued travel warnings on Friday.
The World Health Organisation issued a rare emergency travel advisory about the highly contagious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), saying it was now a "global health threat".
The illness is an atypical pneumonia that begins with high fever, chills, cough and breathing difficulty, and can deteriorate rapidly into pneumonia. Some experts believe it is caused by a new virus. One person has died from the disease in the territory (HK) and 49 others have been infected.
Scientists around the world are working to identify and isolate the disease, which the WHO said was first detected in southern China in February, where it infected 305 people, killing five.
Chinese journalists say they have been told not to report on pneumonia cases, but diplomatic sources say people are aware of the outbreak, despite the news blackout.
The ability of the disease to spread quickly across the world was highlighted at the weekend when a Singapore doctor displayed symptoms and had to be taken off a plane in Frankfurt.
The doctor had earlier treated patients with the disease in Singapore. Most of the victims are doctors, nurses or close relatives who have had contact with infected people.
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This is freaking me out. Seriously. Travelling is becoming something that may potentially take your life. I cannot believe the Chinese journalists were told not to publish the news. It’s something so serious and they are told to shut up. What’s their point in doing that? It creates more harm than good. Perhaps it is a bid to make like their country is safe to go to. What with the 2008 Olympics and all. I don’t know what the motive behind the curbing of news is, but I am really irate that things like this happen.
News excerpt from Yahoo Singapore.
Airports, hospitals on alert for killer pneumonia
By Tan Ee Lyn
HONG KONG, March 17 (Reuters) - Airports and hospitals around the world were on alert on Monday for carriers of a severe type of pneumonia that has killed nine people, infected more than 100 and is being spread across the globe by air travellers.
South Korea has become the latest country to warn its citizens against travelling unnecessarily to mainland China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, where most of the infections have occurred. Singapore and Taiwan issued travel warnings on Friday.
The World Health Organisation issued a rare emergency travel advisory about the highly contagious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), saying it was now a "global health threat".
The illness is an atypical pneumonia that begins with high fever, chills, cough and breathing difficulty, and can deteriorate rapidly into pneumonia. Some experts believe it is caused by a new virus. One person has died from the disease in the territory (HK) and 49 others have been infected.
Scientists around the world are working to identify and isolate the disease, which the WHO said was first detected in southern China in February, where it infected 305 people, killing five.
Chinese journalists say they have been told not to report on pneumonia cases, but diplomatic sources say people are aware of the outbreak, despite the news blackout.
The ability of the disease to spread quickly across the world was highlighted at the weekend when a Singapore doctor displayed symptoms and had to be taken off a plane in Frankfurt.
The doctor had earlier treated patients with the disease in Singapore. Most of the victims are doctors, nurses or close relatives who have had contact with infected people.
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This is freaking me out. Seriously. Travelling is becoming something that may potentially take your life. I cannot believe the Chinese journalists were told not to publish the news. It’s something so serious and they are told to shut up. What’s their point in doing that? It creates more harm than good. Perhaps it is a bid to make like their country is safe to go to. What with the 2008 Olympics and all. I don’t know what the motive behind the curbing of news is, but I am really irate that things like this happen.
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