Posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2003, at 8:17:43
In reply to Re: SARS, posted by cybercafe on June 6, 2003, at 1:34:31
> >
> > Just for the record, the reason SARS got a foothold in Toronto is that it arrived here from Asia 20 or more days before anybody every heard of SARS. The first announcement was March 17 or 18. It was in Toronto at least as early as February 27.
>
> our gov't wanted to do a good job and get the word out about SARS, be cautious, etc, but people got the wrong idea and think everyone's catching it
> (having said that, i was quarantined last week)Exactly. Even the way they were calculating the number of cases was deceiving people into thinking it was worse than it was. They were giving the "total cases since it began", an ever-increasing number, rather than the "active cases now in hospital", a number generally in decline.
There have been no cases of community transmission, i.e. random transmission between strangers outside a hospital setting. There were a couple of suspected transmissions at funeral homes, but I think those were ruled out after the fact.
> > It is now, and has always been, restricted to health-care settings, or those family members coming in contact with the afflicted. Unless you have a strong desire to be in the hospital in Toronto, you can't catch it. And you couldn't get past the security, even if you had a death wish.
>
> yeah... i'm hoping to find some hard hit dim sum places i can get a deal on foodThat might be a strong possibility. With the tourism slump, and the connection to anything Asian, I hear business is seriously affected in many areas, especially the three "chinatowns".
> are you in toronto to larry?Close. About one hour drive to the NE. When I had to go to the hospital with pneumonia eight weeks ago, it was right in the midst of the SARS hoopla. They had all the regular entrances to the hospital locked and guarded. You couldn't get directly into emerg. I had to "run the gauntlet" of security and screening staff, but one mention of "chest pain" and I was whisked away. Only later, after I was stabilized, did they complete the SARS checklist.
Even yesterday, when I attended the psych outpatient department, which is in a separate building altogether, I had to go through a SARS screening and hand-dissinfection process. They're not taking any chances. Thousands of people get quarantined, but very few people have taken ill.
> .. to keep this on topic... i hate SNRIs! effexor gave me tremors and high blood pressure ... celexa now relieves that, plus, my libido is back.. yay!
>Whoa! No sexual side-effects on an SSRI? Way cool.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:231608
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/231860.html