Poor hospital infection-control procedures led to the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto, a commission investigating the epidemic found.
The outbreak occurred in February 2003, when a Toronto-area woman contracted the virus on a trip to Hong Kong and returned to Canada, where she died, The New York Times said. Her son went to the hospital with an undiagnosed condition, later identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome. While in the emergency room, the man transmitted the virus to others and it continued to spread, the commission said.
Forty-four people died. Of the 375 SARS cases identified in Ontario Province, healthcare workers accounted for 45 percent, the commission said.
"Systemic problems ran through every hospital and every government agency," Doug Hunt, commission chief counsel, said Tuesday when findings were released.
The commission recommended new legislation and changes to hospital practices and health surveillance. It also urged the province's labor department play a larger role in protecting workers from disease outbreaks.
SARS was reported first in Asia in early 2003. By July, 774 deaths of 8,000 infections worldwide were attributed to it, the World Health Organization reported.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Related stories:
Lack of dental care may have life-threatening implications
New research from the University of Bristol shows that admissions for the surgical treatment of dental abscess have doubled in the last ten years despite the fact that these serious infections are preventable with regular dental care. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal today, could reflect a decline of oral health, changes in access to dental treatment or changes in attitudes to dental care.
Majority of kidney cancers diagnosed at earliest stage
Patients in the United States today are now much more likely to be diagnosed with smaller tumors, in the earliest, most treatable stage of kidney cancer than a decade ago, leading to a slightly higher survival rate, according to the results of a national study led by a UC San Diego Medical Center researcher.
'Shrug off' shoulder surgery myth, study suggests
Contrary to widespread belief, total surgical replacement of arthritic shoulder joints carries no greater risk of complications than replacement of other major joints, a Johns Hopkins study suggests.
CardioMEMS Moves Closer to Commercializing Innovative Sensors for Heart Patients
CardioMEMS, a member of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), is pioneering a new breed of testing devices to monitor heart patients. Combining wireless communications technology with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication, CardioMEMS’ products can provide doctors with more information while making testing less invasive for patients.
Physical and sexual abuse linked to asthma in Puerto Rican kids
Children who are physically or sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have asthma as their peers, according to a recent study of urban children in Puerto Rico. In fact, physical and sexual abuse was second only to maternal asthma in all the risk factors tested, including paternal asthma and indicators of socioeconomic status.
Victims of Britain's tainted blood scandal speak
(AP) -- Robert Mackie trembles with rage when he describes how he and his wife were kept in the dark about his HIV infection - and how doctors published his medical data in journals years before they gave him the devastating news.
Researchers define characteristics, treatment options for XXYY syndrome
Researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and The Children's Hospital in Denver have conducted the largest study to date describing the medical and psychological characteristics of a rare genetic disorder in which males have two "X" and two "Y" chromosomes, rather than the normal one of each. The study, published in the June 15, 2008, issue of the
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, also offers treatment recommendations for men and boys with the disorder.
Stroke incidence declines among Swedish diabetics
The incidence of strokes among diabetics in Northern Sweden declined between 1985 and 2003, according to a population-based study published in
Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.