Re: [Leica] OT: SARS

["Red Dawn" <reddawn@singnet.com.sg>]

Hi Yau, Joseph

thanks for the wealth of info on your working experiences.....
Just want to take this chance to salute u guys for putting your lives at
risk for the sake of others.

I understand the decision to shoot SARS in hospitals is not a decision that
is to be lightly taken. i will definitely think long and hard about it......

thanks!

boon hwee

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "CC Yau" <ccyau@iohk.com>
Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: SARS


> I agree with Joseph, the SARS ward is not a place for someone without
> good medical or nursing training in infection control.  The risk is too
> high, just to remind you that the official mortality for SARS from WHO
> is 5.9%.
>
> I am not in the front line like Joseph but I am also a medic working in
> another major Hong Kong hospital on the other side of the harbour.  I
> am more with the administrators and we had a special task force meeting
> every other day for the last few weeks and we had extensive discussion
> on infection control etc.
>
> To stay on topic, about your Leica gear, they will be contaminated, no
> doubt.  Our chest physician used to describe the SARS wards as "filled
> with air saturated with SARS virus particles".  Original comments from
> our microbiologists basing on previously known types of corona-viruses
> was that, articles not heavily contaminated can be left dry and it will
> be safe after 3 hours or so.  Articles visibly contaminated by fluid or
> secretion should be discarded.  Recent study after we isolated the
> virus appears to suggest that at least 24 hours of quarantine of the
> equipment (your Leica) would be necessary.  I heard another report
> today that some researcher found that at 24 hours, the virus only
> decrease by about one log, i.e. down to one tenth only.  So if you got
> your Leica gears contaminated by using them there, you may have to
> leave them somewhere for a number of days before you can touch them and
> who knows what will happen even after weeks.  We simply do not have the
> data.
>
> Apart from 70% alcohol, you may also consider 1:100 household bleach if
> you like to try on your Leica.  Heating it up is another option, but
> you may to go up to more than 60-70 degree Celsius for more than a few
> minutes.  Citizens in Beijing are buying all the microwave ovens they
> can get to try to sterilise their masks and household articles, but I
> think it may not work for your all metal Leica.
>
> Joseph's idea of using diving enclosures is probably the best you can
> try.  I do not have such gears, if I really have to shoot in a SARS
> ward, I will get one of those
> fully-waterproof-all-in-one-single-use-800ASA-with-built-in-flash
> cameras.  Soak it in diluted bleach or 70%alcohol before handing it to
> the photo-shops.
>
> Anyway, think twice before you take up the task.
>
> Good luck,
>
> CC Yau
> Hong Kong
>
>
> On Thursday, April 24, 2003, at 03:35 AM, Joseph Yao wrote:
>
> > Boon,
> >
> > I don't think I am the expert to tell you whether it is safe to shoot
> > in
> > confinement full of SARS patients.  We wear full protective clothing
> > and yet
> > nurses and doctors go down with SARS.  The _exact_ mode of
> > transmission is
> > still not fully understood.
> >
> > I doubt you will be able to use your Leica M.  With the goggles, N100
> > mask
> > and full face shield you are supposed to wear, your eyes will be
> > several
> > inches away from the camera eyepiece.  You will be much better off
> > with a
> > digital camera, using its LCD screen for composing.
> >
> > I disinfect my goggles, stethoscopes etc. with 70% alcohol.  Whether
> > you
> > would like to do the same to your Leica is another question!  In my
> > case I
> > use a Canon S45 digital camera in a modified underwater housing and it
> > is
> > far easier to disinfect the housing than the camera.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Joseph
> >
> >
> > on 23/4/03 10:53 am, Red Dawn at reddawn@singnet.com.sg wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Joseph,
> >>
> >> i haven't been following the list closely recently due to the SARS
> >> thing (i
> >> live in Singapore, which is one of the infected countries :[ ). I've
> >> recently been offered the chance to shoot in the major SARS affected
> >> hospital to document the work of doctors and nurses as a tribute to
> >> them.
> >>
> >> from ur judgement, is it safe for a photographer to work within the
> >> confines
> >> of a SARS hotbed if all the necessary precautions are taken and
> >> provided the
> >> photographer does not go too close to the patients themselves? (as
> >> least,
> >> not as close as the doctors get!)
> >>
> >> and how do i disinfect my Leicas anyway? since the disease is
> >> airborne and
> >> transmitted via droplets, would it be just enough to put the gear in
> >> a dry
> >> case with plenty of silica gel to get everything all dried up?
> >>
> >> Boon Hwee
> >
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> >
>
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