Study: Human Waste May Spread SARS

The World Health Organization says human waste may be a more important method of spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome than originally thought.

Although coughing and sneezing remain the chief means of spreading the infection, government scientists in Hong Kong have found that the virus can stay alive for at least four days in diarrhea. Researchers also found that the virus can live in feces for two days and in urine for 24 hours.

However, WHO officials said that the dose of virus needed to cause infection remains unknown.

The research adds weight to the theory that leaky sewage pipes were the source of infection in a particularly severe outbreak at a Hong Kong apartment complex, where more than 320 people became ill.

Other studies in Japan and Germany found that the SARS virus can live on chilled surfaces like those in a refrigerator for as long as four days, and that common disinfectants can kill the virus.

At least 15 more SARS deaths have been reported Monday in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. More than 460 have died worldwide and more than 6,500 have been infected, according to the WHO.

The virus may not be contained on land, but it's not spreading to the air, officials said.

International airline officials said new screening methods have kept SARS-infected passengers from getting on flights.

The head of the International Air Transport Association said no case has developed on an airplane since prescreening began in early April.

The WHO said at some airports in Asia, officials are using thermal imaging machines to detect passengers running a high fever.

Fear of the infection has taken a heavy toll on the region's airlines. Hong Kong travel is down 60 percent, Singapore and Seoul, South Korea, are down 40 percent, and Bangkok, Thailand, is down 37 percent.

Berkeley Bans Students From SARS-Infected Nations

The University of California at Berkeley announced that it will not admit summer students from countries infected by SARS.

It's believed to be the first such move by a major U.S. university to stop the spread of the virus.

UC Berkeley said it won't admit new students from China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. There have been no SARS cases at Berkeley, but the school does have a high enrollment from Asian regions hit hard by the virus.

Officials say the policy will end if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifts travel advisories to the affected areas.

Scientists Seek Patents On SARS Microbe

Researchers in Hong Kong and Canada say they want to patent the microbe that causes SARS.

It could help scientists reap economic gain from diagnostic tests or medicines they develop to fight the SARS virus.

Researchers at the Genome Sciences Center in British Columbia first mapped the genetic makeup of the disease. Now they have filed a patent application in the United States.

But scientists at the University of Hong Kong were first to actually discover the virus. A microbiologist there said researchers sent samples to other labs, but they didn't seek a patent until it became clear others were doing so.

Chinese Residents Resist Quarantines

In China, where the virus continues to spread, some rural residents are rising up against quarantines.

Witnesses say farmers in a town in eastern China beat up officials and ransacked a government office where locals suspected of having SARS were isolated.

One villager said the government shouldn't put the patients in government offices with no medical facilities or professional staff.

Nearly 16,000 people are quarantined in Beijing to prevent the spread of SARS. Beijing has been the hardest hit area in the country.

On Sunday, Beijing reported 69 new cases -- the lowest number the past week. But the city said schools will be closed for another two weeks.

Originally, officials in Beijing had hoped to reopen schools May 7, provided the disease was under control. Instead, authorities plan correspondence classes over TV and the Internet.

Meanwhile, a British volunteer group is pulling its staffers out of China to protect them from the virus.

Last week, protesters in a village east of Beijing ransacked a school, smashing windows and furniture after hearing the building was to be used as a SARS ward.

In Hong Kong, five new SARS deaths have pushed the total to 184, but health officials there also say the number of new cases has dropped.

Ten Indian sailors who complained of SARS-like symptoms have been taken to a Hong Kong hospital, while 14 others in the crew were ordered to stay in quarantine aboard their freighter.

SARS Keeps Visitors Away From Singapore

Visitors to Singapore are staying away in droves because of SARS.

The Singapore Tourism Board reported that arrivals between April 22 and 28 were down 74 percent compared to a year ago.

Arrivals from Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand were down 80 percent. Arrivals from China were down 94 percent.

Over the past two months, SARS has killed 26 people out of 203 infected in Singapore.

The Singapore tourism board said travelers stayed away due to travel warnings in other countries and the cancellation of scheduled events.

Hotel occupancy rates are also down.

The government estimates SARS will cost Singapore $1.5 billion this year.

Although tourists are staying away, Singapore residents are getting back on their feet.

Singapore's biggest wholesale market is open again, after being closed for nearly two weeks due to a SARS outbreak.

About 2,000 workers were back on the job Monday. For many, it was a day of cleaning up. One dried goods store owner spent time getting rid of rotten potatoes and smelly salted fish that had been sitting in the store since the market closed. He estimates he lost about $2,800 worth of goods.

At least a dozen people linked to the market were infected with SARS. The government ordered it shut down for 10 days -- and then extended that by five days.

*The number of SARS cases in the United States reflects probable cases only.