Probable SARS cases at Hill; patients recovered [Hill AFB, Utah]

4/24/2003 - HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) -- Test results April 21 identified two probable cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome here, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two retired Air Force officers, who recently returned to Utah from a trip to Asia, have now recovered from the symptoms.

One patient works as a contractor on base and the other works off base. One patient was seen at the clinic here, and the other was seen off base, according to Col. (Dr.) Charles Williams, 75th Medical Group commander.

"One patient came to us March 24 with recovering upper respiratory symptoms," said Maj. (Dr.) Melinda Screws, the treating physician. "We got in touch with Davis County Public Health Department, and tests were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite the CDC's low suspicion due to the absence of fever, we monitored the patient for SARS. The tests for SARS are new and unfortunately the results take a while."

The second patient was directly handled through the Davis County Public Health Department without incident, and continued to recover.

Both patients are now fully recovered, in good health and have returned to work. No one living with the patients has been infected, and no new suspected cases of SARS have been reported from their contacts. Any new cases would probably come from abroad rather than stem from Hill AFB, said Screws.

"There is no risk of spread at Hill AFB or the surrounding community," said Williams, who praised the clinic and laboratory staff for their vigilance since the outset of SARS worldwide.

SARS is a new disease that has recently been reported in Asia, North America and Europe. According to CDC officials, as of April 13 about 190 probable cases of SARS had been reported in the United States.

Anyone returning to Hill AFB from high-risk SARS endemic areas (such as in some Asian countries), and suffering from upper respiratory symptoms, will be screened as part of our routine approach to the prevention of the spread of SARS in Utah, Williams said.

SARS signs include a fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, headaches, an overall feeling of discomfort and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms, overall closely mimicking other respiratory infections, including the flu, said Williams.

People traveling abroad should be cautious, avoid close contact with known SARS patients, and wash their hands frequently, said officials. Anyone with the symptoms of SARS should consult their primary care physician and report any travel to SARS-related areas, or contact with anyone who has displayed symptoms of SARS, Screws said.

Those who have had direct, close contact with an infected person or health-care workers who did not use infection control procedures while treating SARS are at the greatest risk, said Screws.

CDC officials say there is no indication of "community spread" at this time, but President Bush signed an executive order April 4 revising the list of quarantinable communicable diseases to include SARS.

The patient evaluated at Hill AFB was not quarantined or retained because the acute infectious phase of the illness was suffered overseas and the patient went to medical officials during the recovery phase, said Screws.

"When the patient came to us there was no more signs of fever, and the patient was feeling better," said Screws. "But, as a precaution and due to our suspicions, we used universal precautions like gloves, masks and temporary isolation."

For more information on SARS, visit the CDC's Web site at www.cdc.gov or contact a primary care physician.

LONDON (Reuters Health) - A leading British virologist offered reassurance on Friday that the SARS was not infectious enough to cause a world pandemic.

This virus is not highly infectious. It is a plodder like mumps, not a greyhound like measles," said John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary School of Medicine in London.

With a "greyhound" virus, escaping infection is very difficult. But with plodder viruses, someone could walk 100 times into the same room as an infected person and still not be infected, he added in an interview.

If the SARS virus was highly infectious, there would have been many more cases than the few thousand so far reported in China. "I don't think there is any evidence of mutation," he said.

Oxford, an expert on the influenza virus, said SARS should certainly not be compared with the Spanish influenza pandemic that killed millions after the end of the first world war in 1918.

He said Chinese government measures, such as closing schools, to stop the virus spreading were "very positive" but the situation outside South East Asia was different and did not require special containment measures.

I friend of mine visited her daughter who lives in Singapore in Jan/Feb 03. A few weeks later (longer than the 2 to 7 day incubation period) she became VERY ill VERY quickly & was sick for a week or more. She didn't see a Dr but did take antibiotics. She got sick about the time we first started hearing about SARS. This doesn't sound exactly like SARS but it makes me wonder if she had a light case.

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