Are you aware of the SARS disease?

[Hailfire]

If you haven't heard already, go here.

[Harrison]

I live in Toronto - I am all too well aware of it.

[Kristina]

I am very familiar with it (well just from reading the news) and a lil scared of it since my roommate just got back from spring break in China.

[codeoftherobot]

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) will sooner or later be a large world fear. So far it hasn't hit Africa (yet) with any documented cases but it is a lethal disease. It is not surprising that it started in China since their way of growing animals is very archaic and dangerous to health. Birds have been traced to be the cause of many flu and other respiratory diseases (beats me how but they just do. Just think about that bird you have in a cage ). The chickens are grown in close quarters to pig and cows so that the cows will unknowingly pick up the illness and when those animals are killed for meat or other products, the disease is passed onto humans. I don't know if it is a virus or bacteria but I have a strong suspicion that it should be a bacteria since many newer diseases similar to this one have been traced back to bacteria. However some viruses can look like (not physically but similar symptoms) bacteria in what they do so there is the chance that it could be a virus. It may kill thousands or millions and then just disappear like the Spanish Flu did during World War II. But people, the likelihood that you will pick up the disease is very unlikely. Quarantine setup by the g-men seem to be working so go on building robots. Nothing to see here folks keep moving.

[DarkRedDragon]

what is very discering is, im not being racist or anything, that the majority of deaths were from azains, and this some thing that makes me think it could have been engineered. Over here in PA 5 people have it and have made a full recovery. i think this could have been an engineered bug.

[RogerR]

Originally posted by DarkRedDragon
what is very discering is, im not being racist or anything, that the majority of deaths were from azains, and this some thing that makes me think it could have been engineered. Over here in PA 5 people have it and have made a full recovery. i think this could have been an engineered bug.

the majority of deaths are asians because the outbreak started in china (if I remember correctly)
I live in st pete and we just had som cases repoted in tampa (right across the bay)

[Joe Matt]

Nobody has died from it in the US. Also, the average rate of death is 4%. As was the case with AIDS, you are more affraid of what you don't know. I think this is being blown out of proportion. Sure, it's a problem, but nothing big.

[Harrison]

The death toll from SARS in Toronto is now up to 7.

The number of cases is in the 100's.

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/health/sars/index.htm for more info.

[Cory]

Originally posted by JosephM
Nobody has died from it in the US. Also, the average rate of death is 4%. As was the case with AIDS, you are more affraid of what you don't know. I think this is being blown out of proportion. Sure, it's a problem, but nothing big.

Sure the death rate is only 4% because we have only known about this sickness for a few months, if that. It is only at 4% because victims havent had enough time to actually be killed by the disease (I know its grim, but it is true). In reality, this could be a huge killer and we just havent seen it yet.

Cory

[codeoftherobot]

the reason why many of the deaths are of people of asian descent is that the SARS came from China and was carried by tourists or whoever from China. Probably the majority of the people on the plane are going to be asian and some of those people would have been infected. That does not mean that all asian people carry SARS. What it does mean is to be cautious around those who have visited China or countries nearby in the past probably month. It is hard to say how long the dormancy period is on the SARS if it has one at all. I'm not going to worry about it though. Still have a better chance of being hit by a drunk driver than killed with SARS.

[DarkRedDragon]

you must remeber, these are the cases and deaths we know about, there could be alot more. i just dont like the timing and how the virus works, i really think it was a genen (geneticaly engineered)

[DarkRedDragon]

Originally posted by codeoftherobot
the reason why many of the deaths are of people of asian descent is that the SARS came from China and was carried by tourists or whoever from China. Probably the majority of the people on the plane are going to be asian and some of those people would have been infected. That does not mean that all asian people carry SARS. What it does mean is to be cautious around those who have visited China or countries nearby in the past probably month. It is hard to say how long the dormancy period is on the SARS if it has one at all. I'm not going to worry about it though. Still have a better chance of being hit by a drunk driver than killed with SARS.

the cases in the us that i am aware of have all fully recovered. In asia, that hasnt happened yet. And for canada, i do not know, it is an irregularity in the logic

[codeoftherobot]

If it was genetically engineered it would have killed a lot more people by now. No (wacky) geneticist would go to the trouble to create a virus that only has hit minute proportion of the world. And remember, viruses are known to mutate after a set number of years. It is a historical pattern that has existed for almost to the beginning of life on Earth. Why do continually get the cold every year. Cold viruses have an extremely high mutation rate allowing for continual infection of the same organism. And look at the Spanish Flu. It came out during WWII and there was nothing that was man-made about it. It came it disappeared without a trace and no cure was created. So don't go paranoid. The amount of money it costs for genetically modifying whatever is expensive. There will probably still be a lot more infections but please don't call it a terrorist attack. History shows that every so often, there are large population kills that reduce species in order to control the population from going over a necessary food supply or environment. It's part of the history on this Earth and we are a part of it.

[DarkRedDragon]

very true, it just doesnt act like a normal virus/bacteria the way it attacks is very abnormal, its just a feeling i have, it could be a time bomb virus or even a test

[codeoftherobot]

I did some research through the BBC, the only trusted news site, and I found some evidence that it would only be a regular virus and not genen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2891467.stm

according to health officials reporting to the BBC, the virus is of the corona virus family, the common cold. Viruses like these mutate all the time into increasingly virulent strains. Mutation is natural but so far is no where near the epidemics faced in previous years.