Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News

The World Health Organization said yesterday it would help Saudi Arabia dig deeper into deadly outbreaks of a new SARS-like virus to draw up advice ahead of the annual Haj.

Health officials investigating a cluster of mysterious illnesses in Alabama closed their investigation Thursday after determining the illnesses were unrelated and no new bacteria or viruses were involved.

Oman's health has set up a special team to handle the cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the new Coronavirus, Times of Oman has reported.

New submitter kwyjibo87 writes "The World Health Organization publicly expressed dismay yesterday concerning news that intellectual property claims were hindering research on a deadly new emerging virus .

It turns out the mystery Alabama illness was a coincidental cluster of varying viruses, but that doesn't mean public health officials were wrong to raise the alarm, experts say.

Right now we are to fear a new avian influenza virus . Previously there was another avian influenza strain whose outbreak threatened the world and of course SARS and, more distantly, the ebola virus and the threat of bioterrorism .

Now that the 42st instance of the novel coronavirus since 2012 was confirmed by health authorities in Tunisia on Tuesday, it's quite possible that that the virus is spreading person-to-person, according to the World Health Organization .

In tests on seven of the nine patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no sign that the illnesses were caused by any single germ, CDC spokeswoman Sharon Hoskins said in an email.

Yesterday, I testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China at the "Food and Drug Safety, Public Health, and the Environment in China" hearing.

Main Category: Immune System / Vaccines Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS ; Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Article Date: 23 May 2013 - 3:00 PDT A new approach for creating immunity against the flu virus that produces a stronger immune reaction and protects against more strains than the current vaccines, has shown promising results in ... (more)

It is 10 years since severe acute respiratory syndrome emerged, and East and Southeast Asia retain a reputation as a hot spot of emerging infectious diseases.

This report describes several events in which virus isolation and identification by electron microscopy were critical to initial recognition of the etiologic agent, which was further analyzed by additional laboratory diagnostic assays.

Dr. Margaret Chan, of director-general of the World Health Organization told the World Health Assembly currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, "10 years ago, this assembly met under a cloud of anxiety -- SARS was spreading explosively along the routes of international air travel, placing any city with an international airport at risk of imported ... (more)

Tunisia's Ministry of Health has reported to the World Health Organization that the novel coronavirus has shown up on its doorstep.

A diabetic, the Tunisian man complained of breathing problems since his return from Saudi Arabia.

Geneva, May 20 Taiwan is expected to host a World Medical Association conference in 2016 for the first time, Taiwan's top health official said Monday.

A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it, the Tunisian Health Ministry reported.

Ten years ago, the World Health Assembly met under a cloud of anxiety. SARS, the first severe new disease of the 21st century, was spreading explosively along the routes of international air travel, placing any city with an international airport at risk of imported cases.

The new virus is not the same as SARS, but similar to it and also to other coronaviruses found in bats Saudi Arabia has reported another case of infection in a concentrated outbreak of a new strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and spread into Europe, the World Health Organization said.

Taiwan's Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta arrived in Geneva Saturday to attend this year's World Health Assembly , the decision-making arm of the World Health Organization .