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SARS Scare: Canada Concerns

Aired April 24, 2003 - 11:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: More news out of Canada on this. Canadian officials are blasting the World Health Organization for issuing a SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto.
We're going to get more now on the concerns about SARS in Canada from Mellissa Fung from the CBC. She is joining us live now from Toronto.

Good morning.

MELLISSA FUNG, CBC REPORTER, TORONTO: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about the reaction of this travel advisory not to come to your city?

FUNG: Officials in Toronto, Daryn, are really angry that the World Health Organization has put Toronto on their hot list of cities to not visit unless absolutely necessary. They are challenging that decision, and the Canadian ambassador to the U.N. is going to take his case to WHO officials in Geneva as early as later today.

The World Health Organization says it doesn't plan to take Toronto off that list anytime soon, because it believes that there have at least been three cases that have been exported out of Toronto, three cases of SARS, to Australia, to the Philippines and to a Philadelphia man who was here in Toronto on a business trip a few weeks ago.

But city officials here in Toronto, provincial officials and Canadian officials all say that the WHO's decision is overreaction, and there is no evidence at all that SARS is being spread here in the community at-large -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And what about that community at-large? Let's get past all of the officials. What about just average Canadians on the street? Are people pulling their kids out of school? Are they staying home, or are they going about their daily business?

FUNG: They're going about their daily business here. The impression that Toronto was a dangerous city to visit is a bit of an overreaction. People here are walking down the street. They're going about their business. People aren't wearing masks, but there has been a drop in businesses, in general. People are not visiting, canceling trips to Toronto that they had planned. Conferences, major conferences that were set to take place here have been canceled, and it's hurting the local economy. The governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, even came out yesterday and said that this could have a huge impact on the Canadian economy as a whole.

KAGAN: And then, meanwhile, I understand Canadian scientists are fighting this and trying to find as much as they can. But even the science that they are doing at the main virus laboratory there -- I think it's in Toronto, I know it's in Canada -- but getting some conflicting results, like people who should be testing positive are testing negative for the virus and vice versa.

FUNG: There is a diagnostic test that researchers in Vancouver, British Columbia, have been using on patients there, in terms of determining whether or not they have SARS. But there is some controversy as to whether or not that test should be used, because scientists still don't know that the corona virus, which many believe does cause the disease, is actually the cause of the disease.

So they're not sure whether or not we should be using this test until scientists find out exactly what causes the disease -- Daryn.

KAGAN: A lot of questions and, as you were just pointing out, a lot of fear out there too. Mellissa Fung from CDC, thanks for joining us from Toronto. Stay safe, stay well.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired April 24, 2003 - 11:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: More news out of Canada on this. Canadian officials are blasting the World Health Organization for issuing a SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto.
We're going to get more now on the concerns about SARS in Canada from Mellissa Fung from the CBC. She is joining us live now from Toronto.

Good morning.

MELLISSA FUNG, CBC REPORTER, TORONTO: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about the reaction of this travel advisory not to come to your city?

FUNG: Officials in Toronto, Daryn, are really angry that the World Health Organization has put Toronto on their hot list of cities to not visit unless absolutely necessary. They are challenging that decision, and the Canadian ambassador to the U.N. is going to take his case to WHO officials in Geneva as early as later today.

The World Health Organization says it doesn't plan to take Toronto off that list anytime soon, because it believes that there have at least been three cases that have been exported out of Toronto, three cases of SARS, to Australia, to the Philippines and to a Philadelphia man who was here in Toronto on a business trip a few weeks ago.

But city officials here in Toronto, provincial officials and Canadian officials all say that the WHO's decision is overreaction, and there is no evidence at all that SARS is being spread here in the community at-large -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And what about that community at-large? Let's get past all of the officials. What about just average Canadians on the street? Are people pulling their kids out of school? Are they staying home, or are they going about their daily business?

FUNG: They're going about their daily business here. The impression that Toronto was a dangerous city to visit is a bit of an overreaction. People here are walking down the street. They're going about their business. People aren't wearing masks, but there has been a drop in businesses, in general. People are not visiting, canceling trips to Toronto that they had planned. Conferences, major conferences that were set to take place here have been canceled, and it's hurting the local economy. The governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, even came out yesterday and said that this could have a huge impact on the Canadian economy as a whole.

KAGAN: And then, meanwhile, I understand Canadian scientists are fighting this and trying to find as much as they can. But even the science that they are doing at the main virus laboratory there -- I think it's in Toronto, I know it's in Canada -- but getting some conflicting results, like people who should be testing positive are testing negative for the virus and vice versa.

FUNG: There is a diagnostic test that researchers in Vancouver, British Columbia, have been using on patients there, in terms of determining whether or not they have SARS. But there is some controversy as to whether or not that test should be used, because scientists still don't know that the corona virus, which many believe does cause the disease, is actually the cause of the disease.

So they're not sure whether or not we should be using this test until scientists find out exactly what causes the disease -- Daryn.

KAGAN: A lot of questions and, as you were just pointing out, a lot of fear out there too. Mellissa Fung from CDC, thanks for joining us from Toronto. Stay safe, stay well.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.