Industrial experience and research into the causes of SARS virus transmission in a high-rise residential housing estate in Hong Kong

Virus transmission through the vertical drainage stack is believed to have been one of the causes of SARS transmission in Amoy gardens, a high-rise residential housing estate in Hong Kong.The authors present their findings on the building drainage system, that include a review of the outbreak incident, the observations and site measurements of foul air and water back flow in the drainage system of another vacant site. The field studies with tracer gas measurements, confirmed the hypothesized infection route. The authors make recommandations on design and operation of such drainage systems to avoid performance failure.