SARS – An ever present threat

BY EMMA BOYLE

TEGUCIGALPA – Another week passes and the threat of SARS reaching Central America is still possible although good preventative measures are in place proving so far to be successful. Over the last week (and at the time of going to press) the total of deaths from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, commonly known as SARS, has risen to 372, with 316 of them occurring in China and Hong Kong alone, where the epidemic is thought to have started.

In Central America, the only severe suspected case of SARS has been found in Costa Rica. On Wednesday, the Minister of Health there, Maria Del Rocio Selenz confirmed that they are treating a man with a suspected case of SARS, but that he was being kept isolated and treated independently in the Central Hospital in the capital, San Jose. It is understood that this man, Mario Morales aged 39, had recently returned from Toronto, in Canada, where there have been many cases and some deaths from SARS. This discovery in Costa Rica shows the importance of her neighbors being far more vigilant of the epidemic and taking good preventative measures.

In South America, there have been four cases of SARS in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil, one case being a two year old boy who had returned from visiting relatives in China.

In Tegucigalpa, the Health authorities are making good groundwork in preparation of a possible outbreak of SARS. They have recommended this week that Health and Airport workers take extra measures like washing their hands thoroughly, wearing masks and protective glasses, and being more aware of the dangers that they could be facing. Suyapa Sosa, neurologist of the National Del Torax Hospital, informed that normal masks would not be an effective defense against an epidemic such as SARS, and instead recommended workers that may come into contact with those possible suspected cases of SARS wear a N95 mask since it impedes the entrance of special microbes.

She continued to say of its distribution that “it must be the government who organizes the handing out of these bio-degradable masks to all those people in jobs that could have direct contact with any possible carriers. It is an illness transmitted through saliva, nasal secretions and play with contaminated objects,” she said.

Preparations are being made in hospitals within the country too. On Monday, the authorities of the Hospital Escuela announced of an immediate remodeling of six rooms to attend to the possible entry of SARS victims. Each room will be equipped to deal with cases in both adults and children. This initiative has also been thought of in the Sampedrano hospital ´Mario Catarino Rivas, ´ but as yet has not been introduced anywhere else.

With specialists working to find ways of stopping a possible outbreak of SARS in this country, the airlines, on the other hand, seem to be marring this process by not following recommendations established by the Department of Health. A report by Suyapa Prudot, the head of Epidemics of the Sanitaria Metropolitana Region, on Tuesday, stated that there were two airlines not being vigilant in monitoring passengers arriving from those countries where the virus has been reported, although their names were not given.

“Information on travelers is vital for the department of Health in order to control any suspected cases in designated hospitals throughout the city,” she said. In addition, Elias Lizardo, Minister of Health spoke along the same lines when he said that the whole system of prevention that has been established in Honduras can easily be made more vulnerable through a lack of information or the mismanagement of it. The system must be adhered to,” he said.

In Washington, scientists of the United States government are embarking on an intense investigation to find a vaccine against SARS. They estimate that one can be produced within a year, but that realistically it is more feasible that it will take two to three years. This seems to be a long way off, and due to the highly contagious nature of the epidemic seems to not be of much use at the present. Generally, people must just be aware of the dangers of SARS and use common sense.

It is mainly up to the airports to be especially vigilant of passengers arriving from already affected areas, as they are the first points of contact in the country, and should be the first to contain any carriers.