Fri "Sydney Morning Herald"
SARS could be worse than AIDS: expert
April 25 2003
The SARS virus could turn out to be more devastating than AIDS, a British health expert has warned.
Dr Patrick Dixon, an AIDS and global trends specialist at the London Business School, warned that, on current trends, there could be one billion cases of SARS within 60 weeks.
Comparing it to the flu pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed 30 million people, Dr Dixon called for urgent action before SARS killed tens of millions of people.
"We are in an urgent race to prevent a global SARS catastrophe, with cases doubling every two weeks and a 25 per cent chance that we are already too late to stop uncontrolled, explosive spread, possibly leading to many tens of millions of deaths," Dr Dixon told British newspaper the Daily Express.
"This is not a yuppie disease contracted by air travellers. That is a pathetic reaction that will put the whole world at risk."
AIDS had infected 80 million people over the past 15 to 20 years, but SARS was more easily spread, he said.
"AIDS spreads slowly. But this is different, we don't have the time. This is a far more serious epidemic potentially than AIDS," he said.
SARS has killed at least 252 people and infected nearly 4300 in 25 countries since November 16.
AAP