Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

[Guest guest]

"The spread of SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ) worldwide is just making the headlines. The WHO has issued an advisory. American Scientist had two very timely articles relevant to SARS in the current issue. The first is about the rapidly growing antibiotic resistance in bacterial diseases and the origin and possible sources of this resistance. The second article talks about Type A Influenza and the possibility of a world pandemic similar to the 1918 Global Flu Pandemic. The transmittable nature of SARS, the lack of epidemological information and its severe resistance to antibiotics seems tailor made to fit the scenario outlined in the second article ( it even originated in the far east and is a strain of avian flu )."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--us-pneumonia0315mar15,0,5125768.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

NYC hospitals on alert for mysterious pneumonia striking AsiaBy VERENA DOBNIKAssociated Press WriterMarch 15, 2003, 4:04 PM ESTNEW YORK -- City health authorities on Saturday alerted hospitals to watch for symptoms of a mysterious pneumonia believed to have afflicted a doctor from Singapore who visited New York. The man was taken off a flight from New York to Singapore on Saturday during a stopover in Germany, and is quarantined at a furt hospital. His two travel companions also were hospitalized. "He is a physician who cared for a patient with this illness in Singapore," said Mullin, spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Health. During a teleconference Saturday, top U.S. health officials said more than 150 cases have been reported worldwide of the so-called severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. The doctor who passed through New York was the first suspected case in Europe. No cases have so far been identified in the United States. In addition to the doctor from Singapore, a man traveling from Atlanta, Ga., to Canada is "reported to have developed some respiratory symptoms," said Dr. Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The two major symptoms of this pneumonia are high fever accompanied by difficulty in breathing. The potentially fatal illness is believed to spread "person to person," said Gerberding, with an incubation period of between two and seven days. On Saturday, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, director general of the Geneva-based World Health Organization, warned that the illness is becoming "a worldwide health threat." In New York, "we're sending out a broadcast alert to all hospitals to be on the lookout for any illness that could be suggestive of this illness," Mullin said. New York City has more than 70 hospitals. She said New York health authorities, working with the CDC and the WHO, were in the process of investigating the details of the case involving the Singapore doctor. He began to suffer symptoms while in New York, said Dr. Wirtz, a health official in the German state of Hessen where he's being treated. The man had attended a recent conference in New York, but it was not immediately known exactly when he was in the city, the nature of the meeting or which airline he used, Mullin said. In any case, "those who had casual contact with someone with this illness are likely not at risk," Mullin said. The WHO on Saturday issued emergency guidance for travelers, urging anyone who may have come in contact with someone infected to watch for symptoms such as high fever, coughing and shortness of breath. SARS also may be associated with headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, confusion, rash and diarrhea. A cluster of cases has been reported in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. While no formal travel restrictions are in place, U.S. health officials said travelers may wish to postpone trips to the countries at risk if the visit is not essential, Gerberding said. And health officials are preparing to issue an alert for passengers returning from countries where SARS has been reported. In Atlanta, the CDC emergency operations center has been activated, and its staff is working round the clock responding to the outbreak. U.S. health officials are in close touch with health officials in China, where cases have been reported at least several weeks back, said Tommy , U.S. secretary of health and human services. The CDC is also working with foreign laboratories to analyze samples from patients. "We are doing everything humanly possible to learn what is causing this outbreak." said , speaking to the teleconference from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, before flying to Washington. ___ On the Net: World Health Organization: www.who.org Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov