WASHINGTON/BEIJING, (Reuters):
THE SEVERE Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus can live for days in the stool and urine of patients, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday in a new report that could shed light on the frightening spread of the disease.
Hong Kong scientists have suspected the virus could live in sewage - something that could help explain an outbreak that affected residents at a large apartment complex.
Genetic material from the virus has been found in the stool and urine of patients. The test results posted on the WHO Web site at http://www.who.int show the virus can live for days in human waste.
STABLE IN STOOL
"(The) virus is stable in faeces (and urine) at room temperature for at least one to two days," the WHO said in a statement. "The virus is more stable (up to four days) in stool from diarrhoea patients than in normal stool where it could only be found for up to six hours."
Acidity seems to be important - stool in diarrhoea is more alkaline and thus seems to be more hospitable for the virus. The stool of newborns, which is more acidic, kills the virus after three hours.
But standard disinfectants such as chlorine bleach killed the virus in five minutes, the WHO found.
SARS, which has killed nearly 450 people and infected 6,700 worldwide, is caused by a new member of the coronavirus family. It is related to viruses that cause the common cold and gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in animals.
There is no standard treatment and six per cent to 10 per cent of patients die. During air travel, the virus can be passed by droplets from the nose and mouth through sneezing and coughing.
