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WHO confirms SARS more deadly

Workers carry the coffin of a nurse who died from SARS during a burial ceremony Wednesday in Hong Kong.
Workers carry the coffin of a nurse who died from SARS during a burial ceremony Wednesday in Hong Kong.

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HEALTH LIBRARY
Mayo Clinic
DISEASE FATALITY RATES
Rates are expressed in percentages
Ebola36 to 88
Smallpox30
Gastrointestinal anthrax25 to 60
Cutaneous anthrax20
Dengue hemorrhagic fever20
Yellow fever20
Bubonic plague15.4
SARS15
Meningoccal disease* 12
West Nile virus12
Tetanus11
Diptheria10
Typhoid fever10
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever5.2

SOURCES: CDC,WHO, state and national public health departments, university research centers
* Figure is for U.S. cases only

GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- The World Health Organization says its latest data shows SARS is far more deadly than first thought -- killing about 15 percent of people who catch the flu-type disease.

And as SARS claims more victims, the health body has issued travel warnings to three new places -- Taiwan's capital of Taipei, Tianjin municipality and Inner Mongolia.

Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly taking new steps to protect itself against SARS, with the government ordering the closure of some border checkpoints with China.

According to the WHO, the overall death rate from SARS is almost four times higher than the original estimate of four percent.

The rate fluctuates depending on country and age, with the U.N. health agency saying SARS is particularly dangerous for the elderly.

More than half of those aged over 65 years old are dying from the disease.

"I think it means people who are older, over 45 ... should be much more cautious, especially in respect to travel or contact with people from specific areas," said Dan Epstein, an information officer with the Pan American Health Organization division of WHO.

For people who are younger than 45, the raised mortality rate does not mean they need to take more precautions against the virus, Epstein said.

The latest analysis, which includes data from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, shows SARS has a higher death rate than the flu or the common cold.

The flu kills about 40,000 people each year, but the mortality rate is less than 5 percent and the common cold is less than half of 1 percent.

Conversely, tuberculosis, which people would contract in a fashion similar to SARS, has a high case fatality rate, Epstein said, due largely to a lack of diagnosis and treatment. About 50 percent of untreated cases die of the disease.

Based on the new data, the mortality rate for SARS varies widely by age:

- Less than 1 percent in persons 24 years or younger;

- Six percent in persons 25 to 44 years;

- Fifteen percent in persons 45 to 64; and

- Greater than 50 percent in persons 65 and older.

In addition, the mortality rate varied from country to country:

- Eleven percent to 17 percent in Hong Kong;

- Thirteen percent to 15 percent in Singapore;

- Fifteen percent to 19 percent in Canada;

- Five percent to 13 percent in mainland China; and

- Eight percent in Vietnam.

Globally, SARS has infected more than 6,900 people, killing almost 500, according to the WHO.

In the United States, 65 cases have been reported, but there have been no deaths, according to WHO.

Economic antidotes in China

In China, the scourge shows no sign of abating, and the government is taking steps to boost the economy in the wake of travel warnings that have triggered a slowdown in tourism, state media reported Thursday.

WHO extended new travel warnings to Tianjin and Inner Mongolia in China and Taipei in Taiwan. Past warnings included Beijing, Hong Kong and the Shanxi and Guangdong provinces.

China's Ministry of Health confirmed 146 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 4,698, and five new deaths, raising the death toll to 224. The ministry said 94 of the new cases and two of the deaths occurred in Beijing.

In a State Council meeting, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered a series of measures to mitigate the negative impact of the SARS outbreak on the national economy, which had been forecast to grow 7 percent this year.

Western economists have estimated SARS will trim a full percentage point off China's economic growth this year.

Wen's proposals call for greater promotion of exports and use of foreign investment, while providing tax breaks for the hardest-hit industries such as airlines and tourism.

The plan also stresses the urgency of stabilizing agricultural production amid fear the illness may be spreading to the vast rural areas where most Chinese live.

In Shanghai, the country's largest city and chief financial center, officials announced the economy grew 12 percent when compared to April 2002.

But officials warned that the city is likely to see its growth stalled by SARS in the second half of this year, citing a drop in revenues from service industries as well as a slowdown in international trade and foreign investment.


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