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| WHO scientists release new info on SARS |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-06 09:05:15 |
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Scientists have warned that the SARS virus can live for days in the stools and urine of patients and possibly on contaminated plastic surfaces for up to 24 hours.
Bad sewage was one of the factors blamed by the Hong Kong government for the massive SARS outbreak at the Amoy Gardens estate, which alone has reported more than 300 infections. New findings by the WHO suggesting that the SARS virus can survive for days in human waste appear to back this hypothesis.
Malik Peiris, virologist at Hong Kong University, said: "This virus can survive on surfaces outside the body for quite a long time for at least one day. In that respect, it's far more tough than many respiratory infections. In fact, it's even tougher than the human coronavirus that causes the common cold."
A team of WHO environmental experts visited Amoy Gardens last week and collected samples. Genetic material from the virus has been found in the stools and urine of patients. Test results have shown the virus can live for up to four days in human waste.
"The implication of this is that one needs to be more conscious of environmental factors in transmission of this disease. It also supports the fact that the virus can survive in the faeces for quite a long time for at least a day depending on the type or PH of the faeces. And that, in fact, reinforces the concept that sewage might play a role in transmission of the disease and as you know, this is one of the hypotheses put forward for the Amoy Gardens outbreak," Peiris added.
Peiris said the best way to guard against SARS is to wash hands frequently and keep them away from the face.
Acidity seems to be effective in stalling the virus. Stool in diarrhoea is more alkaline and thus appears more hospitable for the virus. The stool of newborns, which is more acidic, kills the virus after three hours. Other WHO findings show that standard disinfectants such as chlorine bleach can kill the virus in five minutes.
The Washington Post reported that WHO doctors also found the virus can survive on plastic surfaces for up to 24 hours, although this information has not yet been posted on the WHO's website.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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