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Hong Kong may reduce SARS death figure by half
Hong Kong, Sept 27: Hong Kong`s hospital authority today said it may revise the death toll from SARS in the territory to 159 from 299 under new who guidelines.
Hong Kong, Sept 27: Hong Kong's hospital authority today said it may revise the death toll from SARS in the territory to 159 from 299 under new who guidelines.
A spokeswoman for the hospital authority said, "The
revised figures provided were only approximate and provided an
indication as to what Hong Kong's death rate could be if as
expected the World Health Organisation (WHO) made changes to
the method of defining what classified a SARS death".
She said the who could make the announcement to re-define what constituted a SARS death as early as next week.
The original figure of 299 deaths from 1,755 people infection represented a death rate of 17 per cent, which was within the global death rate recognised by the international medical community of between 12.5-20 per cent.
However, a new toll of 159 deaths, or a death rate of only nine per cent, was significantly lower.
In announcing the SARS-related deaths during the devastating outbreak earlier this year, the government stressed that a number of victims were either elderly or suffering from other chronic diseases and in many cases both.
Doctors noted that any future reductions to the SARS death toll must be fully explained including why those previously believed to have died from the virus had been excluded.
Hong Kong was the second worst-affected region by severe acute respiratory syndrome, which infected more than 8,000 people and left more than 900 dead in 32 countries worldwide.
Bureau Report
She said the who could make the announcement to re-define what constituted a SARS death as early as next week.
The original figure of 299 deaths from 1,755 people infection represented a death rate of 17 per cent, which was within the global death rate recognised by the international medical community of between 12.5-20 per cent.
However, a new toll of 159 deaths, or a death rate of only nine per cent, was significantly lower.
In announcing the SARS-related deaths during the devastating outbreak earlier this year, the government stressed that a number of victims were either elderly or suffering from other chronic diseases and in many cases both.
Doctors noted that any future reductions to the SARS death toll must be fully explained including why those previously believed to have died from the virus had been excluded.
Hong Kong was the second worst-affected region by severe acute respiratory syndrome, which infected more than 8,000 people and left more than 900 dead in 32 countries worldwide.
Bureau Report