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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,077
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

@MorningLover  I never heard of Dr. Samadi.  I looked him up.  He is a urologist, not an epidemologist.  He was the highest paid Dr. in New York raking in 7 million dollars. 

 

In November 2019, I believe, a lawsuit was settled for 12 million dollars because he booked mulitiple surgeries at one time and would leave patients in less qualified hands to tend to another.

 

While he may be a good urologist but I want my information/opinions from an expert at the CDC.

 

This situation is serious but I am not getting into a tizzy over it.  I am taking the same precautions I do during flu season. Wash my hands frequently, don't touch my face, clean surfaces with wipes.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up


@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

@shoesnbags wrote:

I wish we could get you to work on this latest virus, @sfnative .  Thanks for sharing!


@shoesnbags  Ditto to @sfnative  working on it. No one else seems to be.


@shoesnbags 

 

Believe me!  Our folks ARE working on it!  Don't know where you got that notion.  Not only in the private sector, but I must tell you that the CDC usually takes first steps - the lead.  We also have Fort Detrick (sp?), where the military's highest level of bacterial and microbe research, etc., occurs.  You better believe those folks are involved as well.  We are the United States!  We are always are the forefront!  You may not be hearing about it, but IT IS HAPPENING - I GUARANTEE IT!

 

If you are watching and listening to media which is telling you nothing is being done at all, then you're being misinformed.  A coronavirus immunization is just down the pipeline!  Haven't you heard about that?

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,599
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up


@sfnative wrote:

@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

@shoesnbags wrote:

I wish we could get you to work on this latest virus, @sfnative .  Thanks for sharing!


@shoesnbags  Ditto to @sfnative  working on it. No one else seems to be.


@shoesnbags 

 

Believe me!  Our folks ARE working on it!  Don't know where you got that notion.  Not only in the private sector, but I must tell you that the CDC usually takes first steps - the lead.  We also have Fort Detrick (sp?), where the military's highest level of bacterial and microbe research, etc., occurs.  You better believe those folks are involved as well.  We are the United States!  We are always are the forefront!  You may not be hearing about it, but IT IS HAPPENING - I GUARANTEE IT!

 

If you are watching and listening to media which is telling you nothing is being done at all, then you're being misinformed.  A coronavirus immunization is just down the pipeline!  Haven't you heard about that?


@sfnative 

It was @proudlyfromNJ  who stated that no one else seems to be working on it. She was replying to my post which thanked you for sharing, and wished that we could get you personally to work on this new virus. 

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,655
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

[ Edited ]

Let's put some perspective on how contagious Covid-19 is compared to other viruses by looking at the basic reproduction number.


From the ncbi.nlm.nih dot gov website:

 

The basic reproduction number, R nought (R0), is defined as the average number of secondary cases of an infectious disease arising from a typical case in a totally susceptible population, and can be estimated in populations if pre-existing immunity can be accounted for in the calculation. R0 determines the herd immunity threshold and therefore the immunisation coverage required to achieve elimination of an infectious disease.


From Wikipedia:

 

Values of R0 of well-known infectious diseases Disease Transmission R0
MeaslesAirborne12–18
DiphtheriaSaliva6–7
SmallpoxAirborne droplet5–7
PolioFecal–oral route5–7
RubellaAirborne droplet5–7
MumpsAirborne droplet4–7
PertussisAirborne droplet5.5[2]
HIV/AIDSSexual contact2–5
SARSAirborne droplet2–5[3]
COVID-19Airborne droplet1.4–3.8[4][5]
Influenza
(1918 pandemic strain)
Airborne droplet2–3[6]
Ebola
(2014 Ebola outbreak)
Body fluids1.5–2.5[7]
MERSAirborne droplet0.3-0.8[8]

 


 

 

 

 

 

☼The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. GBShaw☼
Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

I am very skeptical about the veracity of this topic.


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

@morning lover, the numbers are rising here, so you might want scatch that doctor off your list sources. The numbers are slowing down in China.


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

@shoesnbags 

 

Got it!  Thanks so much for the clarification.  I really appreciate it.

 

I am "pain limited" in the amount of time I can spend on my laptop and so it appears I was hasty in this instance, so I could close out my laptop and recline my chair.  (This pain is really wearing on me and I'm at the end of my rope with something like this.  May have a neurostimulator implanted in April, so am hoping for improvement.)

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,599
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up


@sfnative wrote:

@shoesnbags 

 

Got it!  Thanks so much for the clarification.  I really appreciate it.

 

I am "pain limited" in the amount of time I can spend on my laptop and so it appears I was hasty in this instance, so I could close out my laptop and recline my chair.  (This pain is really wearing on me and I'm at the end of my rope with something like this.  May have a neurostimulator implanted in April, so am hoping for improvement.)


@sfnative 

I understand your pain. My son has ME/CFS and suffers body wide pain 24/7. He is now unable to use a keyboard of any kind because of the pain in his hands. DH and I are his caregivers. How does this neurostimulator work to ease pain?

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up

@sfnative,  thank you for your past work and your informed and sensible comments on all that is and has been done in the U.S. vis-a-vis this new virus.  That's helpful and helps combat some of the disinformation that floats around.

 

I hope your pain abates and you feel much better.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,986
Registered: ‎10-04-2015

Re: SARS: 2002 & 2004 My Involvement in ramping up


@sfnative wrote:

Hi Everyone,

 

With the Coronavirus on many lips these days, plus FB feeds (I received one today from an Italian police officer friend and, believe me, the situation - morale - is not good), I thought I'd share my 2002 SARS experience with you.

 

It's interesting in terms of what the very initial stages are PRIOR to ramping up.  Now...if you plan to write something back of an inflammatory nature, just don't.  This is serious business and I simply want to share, here, what the effort was, what it took and where it went from there.  It didn't happen over night, as some would like it to happen.

 

SARS:  Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.  We were challenged twice by this virus: 2002 & 2004.  It is highly contagious and is caused by the SARS Coronavirus known as SARS CoV.  It originated in China.  The 2004 outbreak was linked to a medical lab in China, where it was thought that a tech may have actually have had manual exposure to the virus.  In 2002, there were 8,098 reported cases and 774 deaths.  The pneumonia resulting from SARS is most difficult to treat.

 

In 2002, I worked in research for a branch of the military.  As you can imagine, with such a population of military personnel stationed around the world, it was imperative of the branch for which I worked to establish an immediate clinical approach to the SARS virus.  To that end, the Head of Infectious Diseases at our Command, the largest medical command in our particular branch of the service, was tasked to develop a "Response."  This Response was all-inclusive and extremely comprehensive.

 

One Monday, as I sat at my desk, I received a call from our department head to come to his office immediately.  I was introduced to Dr. X, the Head of Infectious Diseases, with whom I already had a relationship, as we sat on the IRB together.  My department head then advised me that I was chosen to work hand-in-hand with Dr. X in developing the SARS protocol.  In this case, the word "protocol" was used to mean not only the plan, but a means to define all which applied to the SARS virus within the context of our war against this microbe.

 

Dr. X. and I were given an office with one desk and one computer and 2 chairs.  We closed the door and started work.  Thank God my background was in hard science, as I was actually able to be of help and not just a "secretary."  Dr. X. roughed out outline after outline, until he was satisfied.  Then we began the grueling work of defining, setting goals, funding, research (where & how), methods of reaching all of our military and so on.  We worked 10-12 hour days and were able to accomplish so much, because we were not bogged down by a committees! 

 

When we had completed the protocol, Dr. X. walked it up to our Admiral for a brief review, as it was truly on its way to the Pentagon for review,  modification, re-write and action.

 

How long did this take?  We began that Monday afternoon and printed the tome of a protocol at 1900HRS on Thursday, ~35+ hours later, clearly a miracle in my book. 

 

So, how did things go at Command where I worked?  We did, unfortunately, admit several patients infected with SARS, all of whom survived.  And, I must credit this success to Dr. X., who is now a world renowned physician in his field.

 

 


 

@sfnative  Thank you for all your work and expertise !