The Manual on Viruses

SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in November 2002 and caused
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The 2002/2003 Pandemic was
the first that appeared caused by SARS-CoV. Starting in southern China,
it spread to almost all continents within a few weeks and claimed 774 lives
within six months. The World Health Organization (WHO) distinguished between
countries where local chains of infection existed, i.e. where new infections
occurred, and those where the disease only occurred in travellers who
had become infected in the countries in the first category. Countries with
local chains of infection were the Republic of China, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
As the first pandemic of the 21st century, it aroused new fears among the
population and was widely covered by the media worldwide. It killed 45 people
outside Asia and is a warning example of the rapid spread of disease in the
interconnected, globalised world.
The "Super Spreader"
On February 21, Liu Jianlun, although sick for
a few days, travelled from Guangzhou to Hong
Kong for a wedding. There he moved into room
911 on the ninth floor of the Metropole Hotel,
where he infected twelve hotel guests within 24
hours. He died on 4 March in the Kwong Wah
Hospital. Among the newly infected were three
Singaporeans, two Canadians, the US businessman
Johnny Chen on his way to Singapore
and a 26-year-old local who visited a friend in
the hotel. The international guests, as hosts,
carried the virus beyond China's borders into
other countries, directly or indirectly infecting
about 350 people. The WHO has calculated
that more than 4000 SARS cases worldwide
can be attributed to Liu Jianlun at the Metropole
Hotel. For this reason, the building was given
the name "Superspreader", which was established
in the media, especially in the tabloid
press, for Liu Jianlun himself.
The Causes
The WHO sees the causes for the rapid spread
of the initial epidemic and later pandemic in
the very dense settlement of Guangzhou and
the surrounding Pearl River Delta (China). The
region is home to a large number of wild and
exotic animals, which is why it is very popular
with tourists, with its many speciality restaurants.
On animal farms, animal markets and in
restaurants the inhabitants live, work and eat
in close proximity to animals. The animals are
kept in cages, sold and slaughtered in front of
everyone. The counters where the raw meat
and slaughtered animals are sold are often only
a few meters away from the workers' eating
places. According to the WHO, these conditions
- overpopulated and unhygienic - are a
breeding ground for the spread of infection. It
is now assumed that SARS was transmitted by
the larval scooter.
THE MANUAL ON VIRUSES
// 91