Mary Ann Benitez
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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Ten years ago tomorrow, a Guangzhou doctor arrived in Hong Kong and inadvertently passed on the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus to fellow hotel guests, sparking the global spread of the disease.
But it was not until 23 doctors and medical students at Prince of Wales Hospital became ill that the danger was recognized.
The World Health Organization sent out a global alert on March 12, 2003, for the first time in more than a decade.
But with yet another SARS- like coronavirus infecting 12 people overseas, six of whom have died, the same Chinese University doctors who battled SARS said there is still no potential treatment or vaccine in sight.
"We are still a little bit behind on the treatment of coronaviruses," admitted Nelson Lee Lai-shun, head of CUHK's division of infectious diseases.
"What we do know is probably we should avoid using high- dose steroids very early on in the viral replication phase."
SARS hero CUHK vice chancellor and professor of medicine Joseph Sung Jao-yin said it is "unethical" to test the potential drugs in randomized clinical trials.
"Without trials, a lot of treatment is based on our experience," he said.
"So based on our experience, the important thing to remember is if steroids are to be used at all, they should be used at a later stage of the disease. They should [also] be used at a lower dose so that you will not stimulate the virus to proliferate more."
Lee added there is still no useful vaccine because of technical problems.
"The immune response has been difficult to handle," he said.
David Hui Shu-cheong, head of CUHK's division of respiratory medicine, said not much is known about the virus, including its exact source and route of infection.
The three described the SARS outbreak 10 years ago as a battlefield.
"To me it was a shock at the beginning that we were dealing with such a dangerous infection that we were totally unprepared [for]," Sung said.
The Chinese University will mark the 10th year anniversary of SARS on March 12 with a day- long conference where some of the major players during the outbreak - then deputy director of the Hospital Authority now Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man, then secretary for health, food and welfare Yeoh Eng-kiong and former controller of the Centre for Health Protection Thomas Tsang Ho-fai - will provide insights into the disease that almost broke Hong Kong's health system. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=131210&sid=39012631&con_type=1&d_str=20130220&fc=4
