A National Taiwan University Hospital (NTHU) doctor yesterday suggested that the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may be spreading through contaminated food rather than through the saliva of those who are already infected.
Doctor Chang Shan-chwen (
He said yesterday in a press conference that "because our SARS patients all suffered from an upset stomach before they started coughing, we could infer that the virus might first appear in the stomach, and is later transferred through the blood to the respiratory organs."
PHOTO: CNA
Such a suggestion could significantly change prevention measures.
The understanding that the disease is spread through the saliva of infected people leads to preventive measures such as avoiding contact with the bodily secretions of patients and wearing masks.
If his hypothesis turns out to be true, people should take additional precautions such as washing their hands frequently, and keeping food and dining utensils clean.
Chang also related situations of medical staff who tended SARS patients but did not contract the disease to support his observations.
"Patients who hadn't been confirmed as havving the disease have gone to different clinics for medical treatment. The medical staff who tended to them did not wear any surgical masks, but they did not get the disease. This could support the hypothesis that there might be more than one infection route than the one suggested earlier," the doctor said.
However, Chang did not exclude the possibility that SARS was spreading through the saliva of infected people.
"One of the NTHU doctors was infected with SARS through close contact with the patients," the doctor said.
In response to Chang's suggestion, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health yesterday appeared reserved about the hypothesis.
Director of the CDC Chen Tzay-jinn (陳再晉) yesterday said it is still too early to say the disease is spread through contaminated food. But he said that the center will not rule out the possibility and will continue to examine the excrement and body fluids of patients.
Chen Hour-young (
"There hasn't been any sufficient proof yet to say that the coronavirus can move from digestive organs to respiratory organs as no virus has been found in the blood of the patients. It is still unknown whether there is a relationship between the digestive symptoms and the respiratory systems," Chen said yesterday.
Meanwhile yesterday, the DOH yesterday reported that a female dentist in Taichung County and three of her family members were suspected of having contracted SARS. The female dentist traveled to Hong Kong between March 13 to March 16 with four of her family members including a Filipino caretaker. Two of them have been hospitalized. The others had beening quarantined.
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