| ■ Toronto SARS Crisis Caused by Hospital-Infections: Report | 07.01.15 |
| Poor hospital-infection control led to the SARS epidemic that infected hundreds and killed 44 people in and around Toronto, Canada, in 2003, according to a report released Tuesday by an Ontario provincial commission investigating the outbreak. "Systemic problems ran through every hospital and every government agency," Doug Hunt, chief counsel for the commission, said at a news conference to announce the release of the findings, The New York Times reported. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak began in the Toronto area in February 2003 when a woman returned home after she was infected while on a trip to Hong Kong. She died shortly after she returned home to the Toronto area. The woman's son became infected and spent 16 hours in a crowded hospital emergency waiting room, where he transmitted the SARS virus to two other patients. The virus continued to spread from there, the commission said. In early May 2003, officials announced that the SARS crisis was over and surveillance and prevention measures were relaxed. As a result, early signs of a SARS outbreak at one hospital were not detected. In late May, health officials announced a second, larger SARS outbreak in the Toronto area. In total, 375 SARS cases were identified in Ontario. The commission recommended dozens of changes to hospital practices and health surveillance and said the province's labor ministry should do more to protect workers from disease outbreaks, the Times reported. Worldwide, there were more than 8,000 SARS infections and 774 deaths. Most of the infections and deaths occurred in Asia. Outside of Asia, the Toronto area was hardest hit by SARS. The virus has not posed a health risk in recent years. Yahoo Healthday |