SARS

I noticed this case first in early March. A news in World Journal said an American businessman (Chinese ethnic) went from Shanghai to Hanoi and got sick there on 2/26.

He then chartered a private plane to HongKong on 3/6. At that time, nobody knew SARS. I was impressed by the cost he paid for the charted plane: $600,000. I thought if he would pay that much, he must know it was fatal and hard to be cured. Maybe he wanted to back to US? The hospital he stayed in Hanoi was among the best in Vietnam, named French Hospital. Several days later, another news reported his death on 3/13. I later knew his name was Johnny Chen. With his death, people were aware of a new disease. But until 3/18, newspaper still called it "mysterious illness".

Source and how it spreads.

Johnny Chen was said the source of SARS infected two dozens of medical workers in Hanoi Frence Hospital. But I noticed there was no report of infection in Princess Margaret Hospital in Hongkong where he was sent to and died. That was a puzzle. How could he be the super contagious source in one hospital but didn't infect others in another hospital?

Though there was no infection in Princess Margaret Hospital, in another Hospital Prince Wales of HongKong, there were about dozens medical workers caught the disease at same time. There were two other sites where people were infected in group.

One was Jin-Hua Hotel where 6 tourists who had stayed in 9th floor caught the SARS. Another one was Tao-da Mansion where about 300 residents were infected. I noticed there were no report of infection of family members of sicked medical staffs. And there was no report of colleagues being infected by those 300 residents of Tao-da Mansion.

I think SARS maybe spread by close contact. And it seems more like a disease spread by location. That is: someone had visited the above three sites, left high contagious SARS source. People lived, or worked in these places caught the disease by touching the source or inhaling the air from source. Though there were conflict report of how SARS spreading.

A report may represent my opinion. Quote, "The expert of mainland China found, a patient who was among the people first being infected, had no family member being infected, but friend who visited him got sick. The first foreigner who died of SARS in mainland China, had none friend with close relationship being infected. But those who had been with him for a short time, in same location, e.g. being in same lift, caught SARS." (World Journal, 4/20/03)

It could be infected by touching polluted spot, or by inhaling the air from a polluted ventillation output. The above three sites all have common ventillation system. (Hospital, Hotel, and mansion where lift using ventillation) If so, it looks like a bio-weapon attack.