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SARS toll tops 100
HONG KONG, China -- The death toll from the mystery SARS virus continues to mount with health authorities now reporting 103 fatalities from 2,749 cases. The news comes as Hong Kong hospitals brace for a worst case-scenario of up to 3,000 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. Twenty three people have died from the mystery flu-like illness in the former British territory which borders the Chinese province of Guangdong where the disease is believed to have originated. Latest figures reported by the Reuters news service show 883 people have been infected in Hong Kong out of a population of 6.9 million. Over a hundred have recovered so far. Hong Kong is the second worst-hit area after Guangdong, where 43 people have died. Fifty three deaths have been reported for China (excluding Hong Kong). Singapore, where 106 people have been infected and eight people have died, is now using the military to help fight the spread of the disease. Fifty Singapore Air Force paramedics would help nurses at Changi International Airport screen passengers arriving from places hit by SARS such as Hong Kong, China, Hanoi and Toronto, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday. And the government there said Internet-linked cameras might be used to enforce home quarantine orders, Reuters reports. (Military response) Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, earlier warned growth targets for the year for the island state would have to be revised downward because of the outbreak. Enormous strainIn Hong Kong, Hospital Authority chairman Leong Che-hung told a local television station there would be sufficient manpower and facilities to deal with up to 3,000 patients, although intensive care units would be under pressure. A rising number of infections has placed enormous strain on hospitals, especially since most of those infected have been health workers. "We hope that we can contain the disease so that we don't have to go to the worst-case scenario," Leong said during an interview with ATV. The government is now trying to hire doctors and nurses from the private sector. Dr. Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press he thought the illness could be contained in two to three weeks by more quarantines and mandatory checkups, but also issued a warning. "If there's no change in the distribution of resources and no contingency plans, most of the regional hospitals would not be able to provide normal services to patients," said Dr Wing-lok. China has been slammed for being too slow to acknowledge the disease and warn its neighbors. It said on Monday its death toll had climbed to 53 with 1,268 infections as of April 6. A Finnish man died in Beijing from the virus on Sunday, taking the number of deaths in China's capital to four, a health official said. (Full story) As the death toll mounts, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the key to controlling the disease could lie in identifying highly infectious people, known as "super spreaders." A WHO team is visiting hospitals and talking with experts in Guangdong to hunt for clues. Chinese health officials say the disease has been brought under "effective control." Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose administration is grappling with its first big crisis since taking office in March, said China was "safe to visit" and the country could curb the spread of the disease. (Full story) Experts have linked SARS to a new form of coronavirus, other types of which usually are found in animals. Other developments• The biggest hospital in Singapore has started screening visitors after 20 of its nurses and a doctor were suspected of catching the virus. • In Hong Kong, a 45-year-old man locked himself in his apartment and refused treatment for the illness, holding police at bay for 14 hours before agreeing to go to a hospital. • A vaccine is being developed by the United State's National Institutes of Health. The U.S. president adds SARS to the list of communicable diseases, the first new disease to be added in two decades.(Quarantine order) • Indonesia has temporarily suspended sending its nationals to other Asian destinations after it declared the disease a national epidemic last week. (Indonesian move) • In Australia 14 people have been identified for medical assessment at airports since the introduction of the new quarantine arrangement on Friday. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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