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Taiwan SARS crisis worsens
TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- Taiwan's SARS crisis is threatening to deteriorate rapidly after more than 100 cases were reported in the past two days. However, the situation may explode with almost 1,000 suspected cases yet to be determined as SARS infections. Highlighting the seriousness of the situation, a member of a U.S. team assessing SARS control procedures in Taiwan has developed symptoms of the disease. The epidemiologist, who has a fever and cough, was working an area where cases of SARS are occurring, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S.-basedCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, said. The man and three other CDC employees in Taiwan are to be transferred to the United States via air ambulance. Gerberding said the man had been in Taiwan for several days, but she did not know when he arrived there. The sick doctor reportedly had followed all recommended precautions to prevent contracting the disease, including wearing protective garb when he was in Taiwanese medical facilities, the CDC director said. He developed a low-grade fever which went away before it returned with a cough, Gerberding said. Health care workers have been among those hardest hit by the disease. During the initial period of the SARS outbreak in China -- from April 15 through May 1 -- more than 300 doctors and nurses were infected. While the rest of Asia, as well as Canada, are making significant headway in the fight against SARS, the World Health Organization says Taiwan now has the world's fastest growing outbreak. Hospitals on the island are struggling to cope with the latest increase in cases. Authorities on Friday reported 55 new cases early in the day on top of 65 new infections announced Thursday. Taiwan has a total number of 538 confirmed cases -- the third highest after China and Hong Kong. Taiwan's Center for Disease Control reported no new deaths on Friday, but eight on Thursday, bringing the total number of those killed by the virus to 60. Additionally, threatening to spike the total are another 991 suspected cases -- people displaying SARS-like symptoms whose cases have not been confirmed as SARS infections. The situation in Taiwan has led the WHO to broaden its advisory against travel to all of the island. The health body on May 8 warned travelers to defer trips to the Taiwan capital of Taipei but on Wednesday extended its caution to include the entire province. Last week, Taiwan's Minister of Health Twu Shiing-jer quit over criticism of the way authorities were handling the outbreak. Sources close to the battle say Taiwan is at a crossroads, with officials saying their efforts are being hampered by the fact they are not part of the WHO. (WHO rebuffs Taiwan) In Tawian's hospitals -- where over 90 percent of the cases have struck -- many doctors and nurses are already ill or in quarantine, and over 100 more have quit their jobs, too afraid to care for the victims. Taiwan's authorities are furious and one newspaper compared the medical personnel to soldiers fleeing in battle. (Panic hits Taiwan hospitals) Unless officials move quickly to contain the outbreak in hospitals and do a more effective job of tracing contacts, the epidemic risks taking a turn for the worse with potentially serious consequences for the health care system, they say. In other developments: • In a spot of good news for the region, the WHO has taken the Philippines off its list of SARS-hit countries, after the Southeast Asian nation recorded no new SARS cases for 20 days. • Australia's foreign ministry has removed Singapore from its travel advisory list. The island-state has reported just one new case in the past three weeks. • Thousands of Beijing students returned to class Thursday as authorities began reopening schools in the city. Classes were cancelled for four weeks as part of efforts to halt the spread of the SARS virus. • China reported four deaths and 26 new cases of SARS Thursday -- a slight rise after reporting less than 20 cases for each of the previous three days. All the new cases were in Beijing, the world's worst affected area, and other northern provinces. • Health authorities in Hong Kong reported three deaths and three new SARS cases Thursday -- the 19th day in a row the territory's daily infections have been in the single digits. -- CNN's Mike Chinoy in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report
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