Health |- New SARS-like virus detected in West Asia

Global health officials are closely monitoring a new respiratory virus
related to SARS that is believed to have killed at least one person in
Saudi Arabia and left a Qatari citizen in critical condition in
London.
The germ is a coronavirus, from a family of viruses that cause the
common coldas well as SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that
killed some 800 people, mostly in Asia, in a 2003 epidemic.
In the latest case, British officials alerted the World Health
Organization on Saturday of the new virus in a man who transferred
from Qatar to be treated in London. He had recently travelled to Saudi
Arabia and is now being treated in an intensive care unit after
suffering kidney failure.
WHO said virus samples from the patient are almost identical to those
of a 60-year-old Saudi national who died earlier this year. The agency
isn't currently recommending travel restrictions and said the source
of infection remains unknown. Still,the situation has raisedconcerns
ahead of nextmonth's annual Hajj pilgrimage, which brings millions of
people to Saudi Arabia from around the world.
Health officials don't know yet whether the virus could spread as
rapidly as SARS did or ifit might kill as many people. SARS, which
first jumped to humansfrom civet cats in China,hit more than 30
countries worldwide after spreading from Hong Kong.
"It's still (in the) very early days," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO
spokesman. "At the moment, we have two sporadic cases and there are
still a lot of holes to be filled in."
He added it was unclear how the virus spreads.
Coronaviruses are typically spread in the air but Mr. Hartl said
scientists were considering the possibility that the patients were
infected directly by animals. He said there was no evidence yet of any
human-to-human transmission.
"All possible avenues ofinfection are being explored right now," he said.
No other countries have so far reported any similar cases to WHO, he
said, and so far there is no connection between the cases except for a
history of travel in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Hartl said the first patient may have had an underlying condition
but it probably didn't make him more susceptible to catching the
virus.
Other experts said it was unclear how dangerous the virus is.
"We don't know if this is going to turn into another SARS or if it
will disappear into nothing," said Michael Osterholm, a flu expert at
the University of Minnesota. He said it was crucial to determine the
ratio of severe to mild cases.