The World Health Organisation yesterday strongly advised people not to travel to Beijing and the Chinese province of Shanxi, or to Toronto, in a dramatic escalation of the global battle to control the spead of the Sars virus.
More than 250 people have died among nearly 4 300 infected worldwide . The disease has now struck 25 countries in five continents with a number taking drastic quarantine measures.
Chinese authorities yesterday closed schools in Beijing as China’s death toll climbed to 105. In Australia, where just four cases have been reported, the New South Wales state government said it would fine or jail for up to six months anyone who refused treatment.
Hong Kong and Guangdong in southern China — where Sars, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, first made its appearance last November — have been under WHO health warnings against all but essential travel for three weeks, twice what is thought to be the maximum incubation period for the disease.
David Heymann, executive director of communicable diseases at the WHO, said the organisation was working hard to make sure the disease did not take root in these cities. ”This is a very serious disease with a death rate now of about 5%.”
The latest restrictions will reinforce gloom over economic slowdown as business and the tourism and travel industries all become blighted. The WHO plans an international summit of scientists to combat the disease in Geneva in June, although a network of research laboratories are already working round the clock to devise tests and treatments.
Officials in Canada, where there have been 15 deaths and more than 320 probable or suspected cases, have questioned the certainty of scientists who believe they have correctly identified the Sars culprit as a coronavirus related to one of the most common causes of colds.
There are already fears that the virus might be changing into a more virulent form. The WHO said it had been reviewing evidence from the Chinese government over the magnitude of the outbreak, ”including both the number of prevalent cases and the daily number of new cases, the extent of local chains of transmission, and evidence that travellers are becoming infected in one area and subsequently exporting the disease elsewhere.”
In Toronto, ”the outbreak has continued to grow and has affected groups outside the initial risk groups of hospital workers, families, and other person-to-person contacts. In addition, a small number of persons with Sars, now in other countries of the world, appear to have acquired the infection while in Toronto.”
There was criticism from Patrick Dixon, an expert on global trends. ”This is potentially a far more serious epidemic than Aids”, said Dr Dixon of the London Business School.
”Unless the virus spontaneously mutates into a less serious form, the only hope we have is to mount an immediate aggressive global response at the highest levels against Sars, something we’ve not yet seen.
”If things continue as they are, then a pandemic is surely only a matter of time.” -Guardian Unlimited Â