Isolation call in Canada Sars threat

Canadian health officials have appealed to hundreds of health workers in Toronto to voluntarily put themselves into quarantine because of a possible resurgence of Sars.

The deaths of two people on Friday are being linked to Sars and 33 others with symptoms similar to the illness are being investigated. The deaths come just 10 days after the World Health Organization lifted a warning against travel to the city. The commissioner of public health for Ontario, Dr Colin D’Cunha, said the virus spread more easily in confined hospital settings. Health officials in Ontario said they were monitoring another 500 in quarantine and warned that the number of suspected cases could grow in coming days. Two hospitals have been closed and nurses are again wearing full-face masks and double gloves to protect themselves. The WHO said last week that Canada was free of the spread of the disease, which has killed 24 people in the Toronto area, the only place outside Asia where there have been Sars deaths. Fears for economy Health officials said the public should not panic, but the news has prompted the US Centers for Disease Control to tell travellers to take care if they visit Toronto. For several weeks it seemed Canada’s battle with Sars was nearly over. No new cases had been recorded since April 19, a month after the outbreak first started in Canada. “The cases do not currently meet the probable or suspect case definition set out by the WHO and the CDC,” said Dr Colin D’Cunha. He said officials were treating them as Sars to be safe. The new possible cases, along with the discovery of mad cow disease in Alberta, has sent shockwaves through the Canadian economy. The United States and several other countries have banned Canadian beef imports. Toronto businesses are worried the summer might bring just a trickle of tourists instead of the millions who visit Toronto, which accounts for a fifth of Canada’s economy. “Economically, this is far worse than the fallout from the [11 September] terrorist attacks,” Rod Seiling, president of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, said. (Source: BBC, Sunday, 25 May, 2003, 08:14 GMT 09:14 UK)