HONG KONG - For a solid month, Amoy Gardens stood as a symbol for the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome: A quarter of the 1,200 SARS patients in the city lived in or visited the apartment complex.
Yet the focus eased this week as the government released a list of more than 150 properties where SARS cases are suspected of having their origins, putting into context the fact that the disease is by no means localized.
In fact, none of the 42 new cases reported Tuesday had any relationship to Amoy Gardens, and few new cases have been identified in connection with the complex since the end of a 10-day quarantine of about 200 residents, who were relocated away from the complex.
Still, researchers have found the focus on Amoy Gardens - why the virus spread so quickly through the building - enlightening. Scientists now conclude that transmission probably came through human waste in a leaky sewage system. The first known case there - one of the "super-spreaders" - was a relative who had severe diarrhea, a SARS symptom.
"On many occasions, we were able to identify the virus, for example, in kitchen sinks and toilets," said Yeoh Eng-kiong, Hong Kong's secretary for health, welfare and food. "The contamination was rather serious, and the only possible way for it to get there was through (sewage)."
That's important because previously, SARS was seen as primarily an airborne infection spread through sneezing and coughing. And yet how the virus got passed around continues to be perplexing. The latest theory is that sewage leaks contaminated puddles on the sidewalks and that residents tracked the virus into their apartments on their shoes.
"There will no doubt be more theories before we have a conclusion," said Malik Peiris, chief virologist at the University of Hong Kong.
Residents hope the stigma subsides now that the rampant pace of new cases from their buildings has slowed.
"People will never forget the name Amoy Gardens for this," said George Leung, who lives there. "I wonder if we should change the name."
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