The SARS Virus - A tougher customer than previously thought

World Health Organization (WHO) reported new findings from laboratory studies that show the SARS virus can survive on common surfaces at room temperature for hours or even days.

It is the first scientific data demonstrating for the first time that the microbe can linger outside an infected person's body.

This explains the mystery on why people can catch the deadly lung infection WITHOUT face-to-face contact with a sick person. Rob Stein of Washington Post reports:

One study showed the virus survived for at least 24 hours on a plastic surface at room temperature. Thus a person can get infected by touching common surfaces such as a tabletop, doorknob or other object. In an experiment, German researchers placed the SARS virus on a plastic surface at room temperature and found it could survive as long as 24 hours. Hong Kong scientists had similar results.

Another study showed the virus remained active for as long as four days in human waste. This finding confirmed the spread of SARS through apartment buildings as in Hongkong and in hospitals and other facilities.

In one German study, it was found a common detergent could NOT kill the SARS virus. This would indicate that sterilization of contaminated areas may not be effective at all .

A Japanese laboratory experiment found the SARS virus could live for extended periods in the cold. That is, it could survive the winter. The virus died at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and above, deteriorating at 40 degrees and remain ed viable indefinitely when temperatures dropped to 32 degrees. Similar results were found by scientists in Beijing.

Klaus Stohr, the World Health Organization's top SARS scientist, said yesterday:

"It's the first time we have hard data on the survival of the virus. Before, we were just speculating. There has been a lot of speculation that the touching of objects could be involved. This shows that transmission by contaminated hands or contaminated objects in the environment can play a role."

"What we're seeing is that this virus certainly has the capacity to stay in the environment. What we don't know is the infectious dose.

There has been a lot of speculation about how the Amoy Gardens got infected. No one knew whether the hypothesis would hold. This would support the theory that . . . sewage coming out from that crack could have contaminated the air. This is important, because traces of stool could occur on surfaces in hospitals. So this is very important to know in sterilizing those environments . "

The primary mode of transmission of the virus is still through droplets that spray out when an infected person sneezes or coughs.

SARS' s Victim Count

Eighteen new deaths were reported Saturday in east Asia, pushing the global death toll to 436. Nine deaths were in mainland China and nine were in Hong Kong.

Globally, more than 6,100 have been infected by SARS.

China has agreed to let the World Health Organization visit Taiwan in its fight against the virus, recognising putting the island's number of SARS cases has doubled in a week. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Health Ministry spokesman Liu Peilong as saying Friday that the mainland was monitoring the epidemic's development in Taiwan and was ''concerned about the health and well-being'' of the people.

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