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$600-million sought in SARS case *
Woman says she contracted disease after officials prematurely declared crisis over.
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'Good evidence' found linking animals with SARS *
World Health Organization investigators have found "very good evidence" to suggest that animals play a role in SARS, uncovering traces of the virus in the restaurant where a suspected patient worked and civet cats were served, the team's leader said.
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724 deaths from SARS reported worldwide *
China reported its lowest increase in new SARS cases in months yesterday, but the health chief in Taiwan's capital quit over a major outbreak in a hospital.
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An epidemic of the nastiness virus *
The SARS epidemic is not going to kill us all, but it is a timely metaphor for the existentialist truth that hell is other people. Which seems even more true in postmillennial Toronto.
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Another SARS victim dies *
The SARS outbreak claimed another victim Monday, a 44-year-old woman, Ontario officials said.
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Another suspected case of SARS found in China *
Investigators scoured an apartment block in southern China on Sunday to determine if it played any role in the infection of a SARS patient who lived there -- the season's only confirmed case of the virus so far -- while a new suspected case of the virus emerged in the same region.
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Are hospitals in safe hands? *
The places we go when we're sick can make us sicker, warns infectious disease specialist WILLIAM BOWIE. The price of freedom from germs is eternal vigilance
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Are we ready for the next killer bug? *
Last year, a deadly virus came upon us by stealth. Mimicking in its presentation a common viral illness, it spread rapidly, many affected became very seriously ill, and 44 Ontarians died. Drastic action had to be taken to contain the spread of SARS, and it had far-reaching effects on the public, health providers, institutions, the economy and the country's reputation.
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Banks start dismantling SARS 'clean teams' *
Life is slowly returning to normal on Bay Street, where most of Canada's major banks have begun dismantling the so-called "clean teams" they created last month to deal with a potential SARS outbreak in their trading rooms.
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Beijing rushes to calm SARS fears *
More than 80 people have been quarantined in southern China after the first suspected case of a renewed SARS outbreak in Guangdong province, the epicentre of the original eruption of the deadly disease.
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Big SARS outbreak feared *
More than 20 patients are being watched as potential new SARS cases in Toronto, shattering any notion that the city has truly licked this disease.
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Brockville man dies alone in hospital as SARS keeps family out *
As Thomas Farmer lay dying, the elderly and frail Brockville man made one phone call from hospital to his daughter, telling her that he was fading fast, was all alone and wanted his family at his side.
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Canadian health officials rapped by WHO *
The World Health Organization has criticized Canadian health authorities for failing to notify people properly that they may have been exposed to SARS.
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Chan fights to revive Hong Kong tourism *
Action film hero Jackie Chan is starring in a television advertisement that will be broadcast in 30 cities around the world in a bid to revive Hong Kong's battered tourism industry after the SARS outbreak, officials said Saturday.
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China cool toward MD who told SARS truth *
Whistle blower treated both as hero and political threat, writes GEOFFREY YORK in Beijing
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China lifts ban on wild-animal sales *
Ruling sparks fears trade in exotic species could be source of another SARS outbreak
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China revives Bethune's spirit in SARS fight *
Canadian doctor's legend used to laud modern 'white-coated warriors' battling the deadly epidemic, writes GEOFFREY YORK
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China's taste for exotic flesh ripens the risk of another SARS *
She calls herself Miss Chan, and she offers you a world of illicit wildlife to titillate your taste buds.
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China's war against SARS now includes death penalty *
Beijing unveils Draconian new measures in bid to stem spread of deadly disease
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Could Canada have handled SARS better? *
It is becoming all too convenient for Canadian political leaders to indulge in WHO-bashing. Whether the World Health Organization was right or wrong last week in urging travellers to avoid Toronto for the time being, Canada should be looking with a cool, critical eye at how it has done in trying to control the outbreak of a deadly, and economically destabilizing, infectious disease.
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Cutbacks fed SARS calamity, critics say *
SARS: The Ontario government decided its labs and scientists were redundant. The impact was disastrous.
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Decoding of SARS virus reveals animal origins *
The prime viral suspect behind the worldwide SARS outbreak is a measly microbe of no more than 10 genes that began its life in an animal long ago, mutating millions of times before picking up the power to infect people...
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Doctors were ignored, SARS probe told *
Ontario set to repeat error by rejecting input on containment, OMA chief says.
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Doctors' office battles to survive SARS *
While three of his partners fight infection, one struggles to hold practices together...
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Domestic cats could carry SARS virus *
Research raises awareness, but experts stress pets needn't be banished
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Donald Low: Outspoken MD frank about SARS numbers, effects *
He's a medical maverick who has time and again been the most outspoken voice during Toronto's SARS outbreak, repercussions be damned.
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Epidemic feared if SARS spreads to native reserves *
Federal health officials have drawn up emergency plans to prevent SARS from racing through native reserves, warning that overcrowding and disease make reserves breeding grounds for outbreaks.
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Fear factor: So just how big a risk is SARS? *
Severe acute respiratory syndrome is an international bug of mystery. By hitching a ride with travellers, it has caused thousands of cases around the world -- so many, in fact, that it has been dubbed the most significant outbreak ever spread through air travel.
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Fighting the SARS effect? Try a Woodstock *
Ontario's Ministry of Tourism is betting $5.2-million that some of the biggest names in Canadian rock music can dispel the SARS-seeded clouds of gloom hovering over Toronto.
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First case of SARS strikes Russia *
Russia reported its first case of SARS yesterday. A man living in Blagoveshchensk on the Amur River, which forms the frontier with China, came down with the syndrome as Chinese President Hu Jintao tried to persuade the world his country -- hit the hardest and at epidemic levels -- could contain the disease.
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Five deaths in Toronto fuel fears over SARS *
Health officials deliver mixed message about state of current outbreak in Ontario
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Get a grip: SARS is nasty but it's not the next plague *
Fear of SARS is gripping Toronto. Many believe the outbreak is growing in strength and spreading rapidly in the community. And some people are calling for drastic measures. These fears are not warranted.
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Hand sanitizer sales soar in wake of SARS outbreak *
Matthew Medland has been selling hand sanitizer in Ontario for about 12 years but has never seen sales spike as much as they have since the outbreak of SARS a month ago.
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Health-care systems weak in rural China *
Widening gap between rich, poor leaves some areas unprepared to fight disease.
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Holes remain in airport's SARS screen *
More than a week after Canadian officials assured the World Health Organization that airline passengers leaving Canada would be screened for SARS, little monitoring appears to be taking place.
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Hollywood North(east): So far, rumour spreads faster than SARS *
Gossip and rumour are in high circulation these days in "Hollywood North," but there seems precious little fact about the impact of SARS on Toronto's $3-billion film and TV industry.
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Home care, now more than ever *
Quarantines. Control of infectious disease. Assuring safe, clean drinking water. Sound familiar?
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Hong Kong declared free of locally spreading SARS *
The World Health Organization yesterday removed Hong Kong from its list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS, leaving Beijing, Taiwan and Toronto on the list.
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Hospitals acted too slowly on SARS, nurses charge *
Two Toronto hospitals have been forced to defend themselves against accusations that they weren't quick enough to act on undiagnosed cases of SARS that were raising serious concern among nurses.
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Hospitals shed SARS gear as threat eases *
Some masks, gowns starting to come off in switch to strict 'new normal' vigilance
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How much job risk is reasonable? *
There are low-risk jobs and high-risk jobs, most fairly easy to identify. Police officers and soldiers, for example, are obviously in high-risk jobs, as are many construction workers. And while we would not, pre-SARS, have labelled all health care workers high-risk, we certainly do now.
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How SARS quietly survived in Toronto *
The SARS outbreak: Life goes on at hospital hit by resurgent virus
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In search of a SARS vaccine: 'It's been a heck of a ride' *
It usually takes years to develop a vaccine for a particular disease. A B.C.-led team came up with three strong candidates in about 12 months. MARK HUME tells a story of many 'eureka moments.'
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Inferior masks hastened SARS: report *
The spread of SARS among Toronto health-care workers was hastened by the use of unfitted face masks considered obsolete for more than 30 years in the United States, a preliminary report co-authored by Health Canada revealed yesterday.
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Influenza epidemic of 1918-19 led to cessation of Stanley Cup *
Long before SARS, professional sports was faced with the challenge of carrying on business during an epidemic. The Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19 caused the only instance of a major North American sports championship being cancelled because of illness: the Stanley Cup.
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International travel hit by SARS, war *
International travel to and from Canada suffered an overall decline in March amidst the war in Iraq and mounting concern over SARS.
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Isolated cases of SARS not a concern, WHO says *
A Canadian scientist's prediction that SARS will not return as a global pandemic is valid, the World Health Organization says, even as the disease resurfaced in China.
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It's a small world when disease strikes *
Despite our modern scientific knowledge, doctors are often operating in the dark.
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Jackie Chan revives tourism in Hong Kong *
Hong Kong is turning to action star Jackie Chan to help draw visitors back to the territory after the SARS outbreak.
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Last 12 SARS patients virus free, China says *
The last 12 SARS patients in Beijing have been declared free of the disease but remain in hospital, state media reported yesterday.
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Learn from SARS crisis, university report urges *
Public-health officials here and elsewhere can learn ethical lessons from the SARS outbreak, a report by the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics suggests.
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Lessons learned from SARS crisis *
The need for contingency plans is just one of the realizations of small businesses sucker-punched by the outbreak
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Love in the time of SARS *
Wedding guests are cancelling and men are losing their mojo. It's enough to make a singleton want to settle down
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Magic of Asia newsletter *
SARS has hit hard in Asia -- here's the first newsletter (to try to alleviate that situation) from Shangri-la Hotels and TravelWeekly...
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Major developments on SARS *
A team of Canadian politicians and health officials left for Geneva yesterday evening, optimistic that the World Health Organization will rescind its travel advisory on Toronto after being presented with evidence that the city is safe.
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Man seems to have SARS, Singapore tells WHO *
Singapore reported a possible return of SARS yesterday, hours after the World Health Organization warned that the deadly virus could reappear
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Morbid thoughts in morbid times *
During the first round of SARS here, I asked Ontario Health Minister Tony Clement, through an aide, if the experience had made him think any differently about privatization versus the public role in health care. I did so because, on TV, he often looked like a man genuinely trying to learn and grapple, not just calculate his best strategic response or facial expression. The answer came back: Nope, no change.
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Mothers under observation after medical student falls ill *
Two dozen new mothers have been swept up in the latest SARS outbreak as disturbing news surfaced that a medical student came down with the virus just hours after working in the delivery room of a Toronto hospital.
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New SARS cluster feared in Whitby, ON *
Doctors are trying to determine whether 15 patients who developed SARS-like symptoms after attending a dialysis clinic in Whitby actually have the disease -- a finding that would be a huge setback in the fight against the virus.
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New SARS outbreak linked to lax precautions *
SARS survived unnoticed in the orthopedic ward of a Toronto hospital for more than a month, quietly infecting patients and their families, then made a forceful resurgence when health-care workers were allowed to take off their masks.
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Nurse may be new SARS case *
Governments should have co-operated more in handling virus, Romanow says
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Nurse remembered as 'bright beacon of light' *
Nurses fought tears and saluted yesterday as a casket bearing one of their own was escorted past the honour guard they formed outside St. Michael's Cathedral.
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Nursing aide unwittingly spread SARS *
First Canadian health-care worker to die of virus set off panic in native Philippines
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Officials find link in SARS outbreaks *
Officials find link in SARS outbreaks: An elderly infected woman may be the connection between the two outbreaks
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Oncologist battles SARS, assumptions *
From her hospital bed in Toronto, a doctor wonders if medical establishment is right...
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Ontario SARS death toll hits 31 *
Ontario health officials said Sunday that another person has died of SARS, and the investigation continues into whether five other recent deaths were SARS-related.
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Oracles, sorcerers and prayers in a SARS-ravaged countryside *
In the depths of SARS-ravaged Shanxi province, the story is told of a miracle baby that uttered a warning as it emerged from the womb, urging everyone to drink green-bean soup at midnight on May 6 to protect themselves from the deadly disease.
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Ottawa cutting back on airport SARS screening *
Thermal scanners didn't identify single case of disease, minister says.
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Prepare now for SARS, nurses warn *
Better infection control needed for next disease outbreak, public inquiry will hear
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Prince to headline Hong Kong's SARS show *
Prince will headline a government-sponsored music festival aimed at boosting the image of SARS-battered Hong Kong.
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Progress is seen in battle against SARS *
Doctors battling the deadly SARS virus in this city seem once again to have wrestled it into submission as case loads drop, hospitals reopen and international medical officials express cautious optimism.
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Puzzling case raises fresh SARS questions *
Can it be spread before symptoms show?
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RBC reinstates SARS 'clean team' *
Royal Bank of Canada has relaunched its "clean team" of traders, who are moving today to a secret site to isolate themselves from other employees during the current outbreak of SARS in Toronto.
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Respiratory illness still a puzzle *
Canadian officials vow to stay vigilant
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Rolling up the rim rules change in light of virus *
The SARS outbreak has put a crimp in doughnut giant Tim Hortons "Roll-up-the-rim-to-win" contest. Customers, at least those in Ontario, are no longer allowed to hand a winning rim to a store employee.
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SARS an invader from outer space? *
An international group of scientists has come to believe that the deadly SARS virus is an invader from outer space. Obviously, when the space aliens said "Take me to your leader," everyone naturally thought of Toronto's Discount-retailer-slash-Mayor, Mel Lastman...
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SARS and Death's sting *
The SARS uproar has deflected attention from another nasty newcomer, whose sneak attack last year killed just as many Canadians. No one really knows what the West Nile virus will do this summer, JOHN ALLEMANG reports, but the overburdened health-care system badly needs a break
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SARS and Toronto: The cure starts here *
A critical need exists in Toronto for a world-class virology-microbiology institute aimed at the study, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. And now is the time to build it.
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SARS Ban lifted, but effects linger *
Toronto officials say damage to city and rest of country will last for years.
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SARS carriers infected 16 people on four airplanes *
Health chiefs from around the globe were screened for SARS by rubber-gloved nurses in lab coats on Monday as they arrived for the first annual meeting of the World Health Organization since the emergence of the new disease.
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SARS cases rise again *
Ontario public health officials announced Monday that the number of "active probable" SARS cases in the province has risen to 62 from 52 reported the day before.
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SARS causes critical delays for cancer operations *
Defending against killer virus has created surgery backlog, GLORIA GALLOWAY reports
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SARS causes Toronto graders ban *
Concern about SARS has led the body that awards the coveted Chartered Financial Analyst designation to cancel invitations to 43 Torontonians who were set to go to the United States late next month to help mark exam papers would-be analysts around the world are writing today.
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SARS coverage fuels fear instead of calming it *
The way the SARS crisis has played out on TV has been bizarre to watch. The upshot is that these are the plague years in Toronto. I keep expecting to turn on CNN and find some excitable reporter informing an international audience that in Toronto there are body-laden carts being dragged through the streets by dyspeptic city employees who call out, "Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!"
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SARS danger over, MD says *
SARS is as good as dead, according to one of Canada's leading infectious-disease experts.
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SARS fears deals blow to T.O. tourism *
The latest outbreak of SARS cases in Toronto has dealt another crushing blow to the tourism industry just as it was beginning to see signs of recovery from the SARS scare earlier in the spring.
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SARS fears grip Beijing, leaving many near hysteria *
Some anxious residents microwave money to disinfect it, others abandon pets because of rumours they transmit virus
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SARS fears move to obstetrics ward *
Toronto's SARS outbreak took a distressing turn Friday with news that a medical student was likely coming down with SARS when he was present for the delivery of a set of twins at a downtown hospital during a full day's work earlier this week.
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SARS hasn't scared most stars -- yet *
Major artists are still honouring their commitments to Toronto audiences, but there's no question the SARS outbreak and World Health Organization advisories are starting to affect the city's arts and culture scene.
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SARS in Toronto: MD at pains to explain city's setback to Chinese *
In Beijing to tout success story, Ontario's chief coroner calls new cases regrettable...
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SARS nightmare persists for health-care workers *
While Torontonians settle in to enjoy a post-SARS summer, health-care workers are still reeling from the fallout from severe acute respiratory syndrome. Tecla Lin, 58, died on Saturday after caring for fellow nurses sickened in the initial outbreak. She herself had been critically ill since March and had transmitted SARS to her husband. He died in late April.
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SARS now 'stopped dead in its tracks,' WHO says *
Canadian SARS cases took another significant plunge yesterday as the chief of the World Health Organization declared the disease has been "stopped dead in its tracks."
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SARS nurses to get extra pay *
Those on frontlines in four Toronto hospitals will receive double the normal rate, Clements says
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SARS outbreak 'over the peak' around the world *
The SARS outbreak is "over its peak" in countries around the world, including China, the hardest-hit by the lethal flu-like disease, a World Health Organization official said Thursday.
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SARS Outbreak brings tears, heartache *
SARS quarantines mean no wedding for Toronto couple, no kisses for kids
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SARS panel recommends independent health-care agency *
Ontario should establish an independent health-protection agency and free the chief medical officer from any potential political interference, a panel of medical experts charged with identifying the key lessons learned from SARS said yesterday.
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SARS patients responded well in drug-combination test, researchers say *
A drug cocktail shows promise in the treatment of SARS, according to the results of a small Canadian study.
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SARS plan enlists Woods *
Is Tiger Woods coming to Toronto for a star-studded golf exhibition to benefit the city's SARS-ravaged tourism industry?
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SARS ruled out in seven Ontario patients *
In a bit of good news on the SARS front, Ontario health officials say at least seven of 15 dialysis patients at a Whitby, Ont., facility do not have SARS.
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SARS study contains surprising revelations *
Two in every three people infected with SARS in Ontario have been women and the average age of those sickened by the mysterious virus is only 45, according to the most detailed research published to date.
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SARS testing botched *
A report from Canada's national laboratory grudgingly admits what many in the scientific world have been saying for months: last summer's panic over a suspected SARS outbreak in a Vancouver suburb was a false alarm.
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SARS update April 24, 2003 *
The World Health Organization warned travellers to steer clear of Toronto, Beijing, north China's Shanxi province in a bid to halt the spread of SARS. The advice to postpone non-essential travel to the three destinations will be re-examined in three weeks' time, which is twice the maximum incubation period of SARS.
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SARS virus has staying power, studies show *
Can lurk on plastic surfaces, survive cold, linger in human feces for days, experts say.
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SARS wave in Toronto probably on decline, Low says *
A key member of the SARS-containment team in Toronto said Thursday that the number of cases from the most recent outbreak could ultimately total 60 or 70, but that the worst probably is past.
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SARS-stricken Toronto likely back on WHO list *
Toronto's SARS woes increased yesterday with news that eight new cases have been added to the latest outbreak, including two patients who have died -- and expectations that the city will again land on the World Health Organization's list of areas where the disease is spreading.
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SARS: $1 flights to Toronto quickly sell out *
SARS-weary Torontonians flocked downtown last night lured by special deals offered to kick-start the city's faltering economy.
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SARS: BC group files data patent application *
Within days of decoding the genetic makeup of the SARS virus, B.C. researchers were grappling with another issue: the intense pressure to get sole rights to their own data so they could share it with the world.
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SARS: Beijing ramps up quarantine measures *
The mysterious virus SARS is slowly but surely bringing the world's most-populous country, and in particular its capital, Beijing, to its knees.
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SARS: Cautious to a fault *
When nine members of a Texas air-force base were quarantined for suspected SARS last week after picking up a cough during an hour spent at a Toronto airport, it seemed proof that everything truly is bigger in the Lone Star State -- including the paranoia.
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SARS: China still does not get it *
The dismissal on Easter Sunday of Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong for their role in covering up the seriousness of the SARS epidemic was the biggest governmental shakeup in more than a decade and has far-reaching ramifications.
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SARS: China's scanners win coroner's praise *
Ontario official is less impressed with severe penalties for spreading SARS
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SARS: Crossed wires put Toronto on hit list *
Health Canada's Paul Gully was embroiled in a transatlantic e-mail dispute Tuesday about the state of Toronto's SARS outbreak.
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SARS: Disease update *
adapted from the Health Canada Web site...
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SARS: Dollar soars as WHO clears Toronto *
...But some caution that city faces long road to recovery...
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SARS: Health care workers critically ill *
The death Sunday of an Ontario nurse — the first health care worker in Canada to succumb to SARS — makes clear the need to better protect front-line workers, a nurses' union said Monday.
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SARS: How the quest for a quick victory led to costly error *
Just two weeks ago, Toronto health officials were so convinced they had beaten SARS into submission that they dismantled key elements of their containment team while lead members took off on international tours to describe how the city defeated the disease.
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SARS: No sympathy for Canada's whining *
Canada's campaign in Geneva to convince the WHO to rescind its Toronto travel advisory is shortsighted. Rather than simply fighting to have the advisory lifted, Canadians should look carefully at the far-reaching -- if sometimes draconian -- SARS policies put in place in the countries nearest the epicentre of the outbreak.
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SARS: Not so fast, Toronto *
Don't knock the World Health Organization. It's our front-line defence against epidemics and it needs our support, says health researcher PRABHAT JHA
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SARS: Now that the WHO has changed its tune *
Something was in the air yesterday in Toronto, and it wasn't deadly spores from severe acute respiratory syndrome. It might have been the sound of three million people exhaling.
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SARS: Peeling away the mysteries of a virus *
Findings suggest SARS may have jumped from rare animal species such as civet cat
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SARS: Teen's case raises doubts about 10-day quarantine *
A Toronto teenager developed SARS 12 days after her SARS-infected parent was hospitalized, a finding that suggests the incubation period for the disease may be longer than had been thought.
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SARS: Teens rebel against quarantine *
Students straying after 1,500 ordered to remain at home
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SARS: Toronto faces 'new normal' *
Hospitals resuming measures abandoned when first outbreak seemed under control
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SARS: Toronto set to cope with new outbreak *
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SARS: US experts eye Toronto regimen *
U.S. health experts swept into Toronto last night to conduct an external audit on how the city has handled SARS.
Every detail, down to how to remove masks and gloves after treating SARS patients, must be studied, said Dick Zoutman, a scientist advising officials about it.
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SARS: WHO to probe rural China *
Worries that SARS might be spreading to Hebei province sparks investigation
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SARS: WHO warning unhealthy for Air Canada, CEO says *
Air Canada's revenue is under "tremendous additional strain" because of the World Health Organization advisory that customers avoid travel to Toronto, president and chief executive officer Robert Milton told employees.
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Scientist likely got SARS in laboratory, WHO says *
A Singapore researcher who tested positive for SARS is very likely to have contracted the virus at a laboratory where intensive research on the disease had been done, a World Health Organization official said yesterday
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Scope of SARS outbreak understated, critics say *
Two more patients die as controversy grows over actions of health authorities
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Scotiabank reactivates its SARS 'clean team' *
The Bank of Nova Scotia has reactivated its isolated "clean team" of key trading employees as a result of the recent recurrence of SARS in Toronto.
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Second Ontario nurse dies of SARS *
Canada's second health-care worker to die of SARS infected her husband who also died from the disease, hospital officials confirmed Sunday.
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Singapore confirms new case of SARS *
Health officials in Singapore say that laboratory tests confirm that a 27-year-old man has contracted SARS -- the first case of the deadly respiratory illness since July -- but they insist that the chance of another major outbreak is minimal
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Singapore reports new SARS case *
Singapore health officials confirmed on Monday that a local patient has tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in what may be the world's first new case of the disease in three months
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Star-studded concert gives Toronto a boost *
Music seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for Torontonians frustrated at a disease that accidentally found its way to Canada's largest city and made citizens out to be pariahs.
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Star-studded shot in the arm *
Two squads of A-list Canadian musicians tried to put a bit of rah-rah back in the Toronto scene on Saturday, after weeks of simmering paranoia about severe acute respiratory syndrome and other perils.
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Stars and SARS: the fallout continues *
Toronto is a safe place to visit, the World Health Organization decided last week, but some celebrities, it seems, haven't heard the word. Moreover, the SARS panic appears to be confusing their knowledge of geography.
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Stones benefit gathers steam -- but slowly *
Organizers who are trying to bring the Rolling Stones to Toronto to help remove the stain of SARS from the city's image say they need to raise $2-million in private sponsorship over the weekend for the concert to go ahead.
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Sweeping SARS quarantines not needed *
The massive quarantines that confined thousands of Canadians to their homes during last spring's SARS outbreak will not be repeated if the deadly respiratory virus re-emerges, federal health officials say.
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Taiwan accuses China of blocking SARS aid *
China has again blocked Taiwan from gaining status at the World Health Organization and faces accusations that Taiwanese are dying of SARS because Beijing took steps to delay WHO assistance to the hard-hit island.
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Taiwan angry at continued SARS travel advisory *
Taiwan was angry Wednesday about a World Health Organization decision not to lift a SARS travel advisory for the island as it has done for Canada, where -- despite the WHO vote of confidence -- a recent U.S. visitor caught the virus before returning home.
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Taiwan announces 12 more deaths *
Taiwan announced 12 new SARS fatalities and 22 more cases yesterday, taking the world's death toll to more than 700 and Taiwan's total number of infections to 570.
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Taiwan SARS rate soars; eight more patients die *
Taiwan's SARS crisis escalated yesterday with 65 new cases and eight deaths. The new cases -- nearly double the previous daily record -- took Taiwan's toll from severe acute respiratory syndrome to 483 infections and 60 deaths, according to the Department of Health.
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Taiwan struggles to curb rising SARS toll *
Taiwan's SARS crisis escalated yesterday with a record 65 new cases and eight deaths after an island-wide travel alert issued by the World Health Organization.
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Taiwanese medical researcher tests positive for SARS virus after visiting Singapore *
A researcher at a military hospital in Taiwan has tested positive for the SARS virus after travelling to Singapore a few days earlier, an official in Taipei said today.
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The lab worker's SARS *
The latest person to contract severe acute respiratory syndrome did some remarkably stupid things both before and after his exposure to the virus.
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The wages of SARS for stars *
Eleven acts and an agent to reap big bucks at next week's concert, JAMES ADAMS says, but no money planned for SARS relief
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The year of the plague: Just blame SARS *
In addition to its tragic toll in lives, the frightening virus became the scapegoat for everything that went culturally wrong in 2003, JAMES ADAMS writes.
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There's a plus side to the SARS crisis *
Apart from the fact that we all now know how to wash our hands so thoroughly they are as withered as prunes, there have been some positive work-related outcomes of the SARS crisis.
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Threat of West Nile follows on heels of SARS *
Canadian experts are predicting an early mosquito season this year -- bringing with it the deadly West Nile virus.
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Toilet seats and spit bags new weapons in SARS wars *
Amid Chinese show of high-tech devices, simple idea to stem the phlegm stands out
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Toronto & SARS: Deserted by tourists, King is a lonely street *
Restaurant and hotel business drying up as visitors steer clear of theatre district
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Toronto doctor dies of SARS *
A 54-year-old doctor died of SARS Wednesday, the first physician to succumb to the disease in Canada.
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Toronto dodges second WHO travel advisory *
UN agency holds off, but cites concerns about spread of SARS, possible exports
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Toronto hit with four new SARS cases *
Toronto health officials announced four news cases of SARS in Toronto and have instituted new quarantine restrictions for anyone who has recently visited a North York hospital.
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Toronto hit with SARS bombshell *
Four more people believed stricken; hundreds asked to go into quarantine
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Toronto off WHO's SARS list *
The World Health Organization has removed Toronto from its list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS.
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Toronto sees 40th SARS death *
A 76-year-old woman succumbed to SARS late last week, bringing the death toll due to 40 in Toronto.
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Trying to save Hong Kong after SARS *
The Hong Kong economy, which grew 2.3 per cent last year, had been expected to grow faster this year. When Financial Secretary Anthony Leung presented his budget in March, he predicted that real growth this year would reach 3 per cent. Others were even more optimistic. But that was before SARS struck.
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Two deaths removed from SARS-suspect list *
Two of five people thought to have succumbed to SARS at a Toronto hospital last week did not have the disease, but another two have tested "weakly positive" for the coronavirus linked to the deadly illness.
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Two new cases of SARS suspected in Toronto *
Health systems and officials around the world have to work together to contain the spread of SARS and to plan for the emergence of other new infectious pathogens, participants at an international conference on SARS said Thursday.
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U.S. SARS warning 'ludicrous,' MD charges *
Americans who have recently returned from Toronto are still being warned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that they could have caught SARS in the city, a prospect a leading Toronto SARS expert calls ludicrous.
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Virus tears at China's political, social fabric *
Nobody expected it to happen so fast.
Less than two months into his presidential term, Chinese leader Hu Jintao is facing both a career-threatening crisis and a historic opportunity for reform.
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Waiting for the next SARS *
Almost one year ago, the 11-member National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health, chaired by Dr. David Naylor, began its deliberations. Prompted by one of the most economically devastating disease outbreaks Canada has ever known, the committee set out to dissect the SARS crisis.
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Wal-Mart Canada staff miss meeting *
Stay home because of 'SARS issue'...
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WHO calls for flu shots to help diagnose SARS *
Fearing the coming flu season will bring a new round of SARS hysteria, the World Health Organization says those at high risk of developing influenza should be immunized as a matter of urgency.
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WHO experts search Chinese restaurant *
World Health Organization experts on Saturday searched a restaurant where China's second suspected SARS patient works and where civet cats and other wild animals thought to be possible transmitters of the virus were served.
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WHO fears SARS spreads in new ways *
Even as the SARS epidemic seems to be easing in China, health experts are increasingly worried that a rising percentage of the latest SARS cases are spreading from mysterious and unknown sources.
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WHO frees Beijing of SARS travel warning *
The World Health Organization lifted its last SARS travel warning yesterday, declaring the disease under control in Beijing, the hard-hit capital of China where the outbreak began.
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WHO holds off on new travel advisory *
Ontario health officials expressed relief Tuesday that the World Health Organization is not issuing another SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto "at this time."
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WHO removes Hong Kong from SARS list *
The World Health Organization removed Hong Kong from its list of SARS-infected areas Monday, but warned the territory to keep up its guard against future outbreaks that might put it back on the list.
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WHO travel advisory widens to all of Taiwan *
The World Health Organization extended its travel advisory to all of Taiwan yesterday as the island reported 35 new SARS cases and officials warned that the outbreak has yet to peak.
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WHO voices 'major concern' about SARS in Toronto *
UN agency cites export of disease to U.S. and questions on possible cases in Whitby
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WHO warns not to let guard down against SARS *
Countries must remain on guard against SARS even though the disease is being brought under control globally, a top World Health Organization official said Sunday while another WHO official said a cure for SARS is unlikely soon following a conference that failed to agree on how to treat the deadly virus.
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Secondary Sites:
'Toronto is back and it's booming:' Jagger *
A crush of 450,000 people -- thousands more than the population of Halifax -- descended on the grounds of an abandoned military base Wednesday to write history as images of the biggest concert staged in Canada were broadcast around the world in a public declaration that Toronto's SARS outbreak is over.
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Asian summit grapples with effects of SARS *
As disease and violence spread in China, Thailand seizes a marketing opportunity
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Bargains banish lingering SARS blues *
There's nothing like a few good bargains to ease the lingering fear of SARS in Toronto.
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Books on epidemics: Spread the word *
With the SARS fever sweeping the nation, The Globe's ANDREW NIKIFORUK takes a look at books that offer both horror and hope
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Eves denies health cuts harmed SARS response *
Premier Ernie Eves defended his government's record yesterday in protecting public health, and argued that increased government spending would not have prevented Ontario's SARS outbreak. He challenged opposition complaints that hospitals and public-health services have been shortchanged.
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Experts prescribe national health team *
A blue-ribbon panel studying the fallout from the SARS crisis will recommend that Ottawa spend hundreds of millions of dollars on public health, including a national disease centre that could quickly co-ordinate responses to health emergencies, sources have told The Globe and Mail.
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Few fear spread of contagion *
Citizens confident public-health workers, governments will contain SARS, mad-cow
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Flu forces special measures *
Two hospitals in Southern Ontario are taking SARS-like precautions to cope with outbreaks of influenza, the latest sign of an unusually severe flu season striking nationwide.
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Hong Kong's wild side *
DAFFYD RODERICK explores parts of the former colony where Mother Nature overshadows the lingering effects of SARS
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Hospital germs kill thousands, research finds *
Inadequate infection-control measures result in 8,000 to 12,000 deaths each year
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In hospital, SARS battle still not over *
Part of the money raised by rock concert will benefit health-care workers in area
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Leaders hope plan to attract research will boost Toronto economy *
In the aftermath of SARS, an "unprecedented" alliance of public- and private-sector interests will unveil plans today to boost the economy of the Toronto region by making it a magnet for some of the world's top researchers and research-driven industry.
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Learning to love Toronto *
Funny, but The Toronto Song -- a decade-old ditty by the Edmonton comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie -- doesn't seem quite so catchy these days.
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Officials grateful for help of Weir *
The Royal Canadian Golf Association has had a number of challenges as it tries to drum up interest on the PGA Tour for the 2003 Bell Canadian Open.
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PC grids take aim at SARS in battle against disease *
Your personal computer can play a role in fighting SARS in its spare time in a volunteer project connecting PCs to a 60,000-machine computing grid.
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Psychological effects of SARS strong, study says *
While 42 Canadians have died of SARS since March, countless more continue to feel the psychological effects of the new pneumonia-like disease.
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Residents clean up in hygiene study *
SARS outbreak spurs hand washing
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SARS Escape: Truth to tell *
It's hardly an escape from reality, but the Hot Docs film festival does offer Toronto a 10-day respite from its own problems
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SARS in HK: On the inside looking in *
In a city ravaged by SARS, CHARLES FORAN has been teaching a course on Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient. It's a strange climate, he writes, in which to explore themes of heroism, loss and the triumph of the public good.
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Scientists eye drug. Fast action on SARS *
A SARS vaccine could be mere months away, but getting it approved, manufactured and distributed to Canadians may prove more of a challenge, says a health researcher who is developing ways to prevent the disease.
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Spielberg to transform Montreal into Paris *
The City of Montreal's film bureau has confirmed that Oscar-winning American director Steven Spielberg will be shooting a segment of his latest project, titled Terminal, at one of the city's airports, Mirabel.
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Spread the word: Fear and coughing in Hong Kong *
Canadian novelist CHARLES FORAN has been a Hong Kong resident for two years. He returned there from a trip this week to a panicked place of closed schools, food hoarding and Hello Kitty medical masks. 'Hong Kongers,' a neighbour sighs, 'they go crazy sometimes'
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Stones concert set to roll *
This time, it's really official. After weeks of mounting rumour and anticipation, the Rolling Stones have confirmed plans to play an outdoor concert at Toronto's Downsview Park on July 30...
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Stop your snivelling, you bunch of pathetic hypochondriacs *
People living in Canada and other rich countries today enjoy a healthier, safer life than any other generation in the whole of human history. Yet if you picked up the newspaper this week, you wouldn't know it...
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The voracious world of viruses *
We've had antibiotics to fight bacteria for over 50 years, but little progress has been made against the more insidious viral infections. It may be that the only thing we can rely on is our own immune system. ANNE McILROY reports
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The year of living statistically *
It's May, at the height of the SARS panic in Toronto, when the hum of the mantras is first heard. People are dropping like flies, the number of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome is ballooning, some idiot religious cult is disobeying the quarantine rules because God says don't bother, the virus is said to be able to live for 24 hours on inanimate objects -- when suddenly, just like that, everything gets calm again.
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Third suspected SARS case in China *
China's third suspected SARS case emerged Monday when authorities confirmed the hospitalization of a 35-year-old man who, like the two others, lives in the southern province of Guangdong — a region under orders to move aggressively against the disease.
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To draw conclusions from the SARS fight *
Toronto's experience with SARS has been a hot and cold shower for the spirits...
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Toronto's rough cuts *
SARS, a stronger dollar and uncertainty over government funding are causing havoc in the $3-billion film-and-TV industry of Canada's largest city, GAYLE MacDONALD writes (though some Canadian cities are faring better).
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Tourism economy feels pinch as trips cancelled *
Hollywood star Catherine O'Hara decided to take a pass. And so did the thousands of cancer researchers who decided against coming to Toronto for their annual convention.
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U.S. got lucky, experts agree *
Medical officials tracking SARS in Canada and East Asia say fate is the primary factor that has allowed the United States to avoid outbreaks of the deadly disease, though precautions against bioterrorism taken after Sept. 11, 2001, have helped.
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West Nile virus fight to employ larvicide *
Facing the impending West Nile virus threat, at least half a dozen Ontario municipalities plan to use chemical agents to kill mosquito larvae, some of them before Victoria Day.
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You can't always touch who you want *
When the violinists aboard the Titanic struck up Autumn as the great ship sank, this was a particularly moving example of the persistence of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy.
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