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Posted on 05/28/2003 12:35:01 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Lufkin woman with SARS symptoms isolated at home
She had traveled to Taiwan; state taking 'precautionary steps'
05/28/2003
LUFKIN, Texas – A Lufkin woman who exhibited symptoms associated with the SARS virus after returning from Taiwan this month is being isolated in a family member's home while health officials notify dozens of East Texas residents with whom the woman had contact, the Texas Department of Health said Tuesday.
The state health department and two local health agencies began investigating the case over the weekend after the woman reported symptoms associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome, Health Department spokesman Doug McBride said.
"The chances of this person actually having SARS are very low, and the chances of it being transmitted to someone else are even lower, but we're taking these precautionary steps," Mr. McBride said.
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Sharon Shaw of the Angelina County & Cities Health District said the woman was feeling better Tuesday. "She has minimal amounts of the symptoms," Ms. Shaw said in a story in Wednesday's Lufkin Daily News.
The woman, who has been instructed to stay isolated until 10 days after symptoms abate, visited Marshall after returning from Taipei, where SARS is an epidemic, said Dr. Robert Palmer, head of the Marshall-Harrison County Board of Health.
On Tuesday, Taiwan reported 11 new cases of the highly contagious respiratory disease and four deaths, bringing the global death toll to at least 729.
"Any time anyone is coming from an epidemic area, if they develop symptoms, they're classified as a suspect case for SARS," Mr. Palmer told the Marshall News-Messenger. "We've had several suspect cases in Texas, but it's the first to my knowledge in East Texas."
The woman was in the audience with members of the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church in Marshall on Friday at a performance by a singing group from Texas Bible College.
She had accompanied the college group previously on a visit to Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, the newspaper reported.
"The chances of this person actually having SARS are very low, and the chances of it being transmitted to someone else are even lower, but we're taking these precautionary steps," Mr. McBride said.
He said the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reviewing information on the case and will determine whether to add it to the list of seven suspected cases in Texas, none of which is considered probable. Texas has not had a confirmed case of SARS.
A Lufkin woman who traveled to Taiwan earlier this month is quarantined at a relative's home with symptoms of the SARS virus, a local health official said Tuesday.
The middle-aged woman, who returned from her trip to Taipei, Taiwan, on May 17, went to the emergency room at Woodland Heights Medical Center Saturday morning when she contracted symptoms of the disease, according to Sharon Shaw, administrator of the Angelina County & Cities Health District.
Any area residents who are known to have come in contact with the woman are being notified about the precautions they should take if they develop symptoms of the virus, which include a high fever, a sore throat, body aches and mild respiratory problems.
Although a Marshall health official said Tuesday that the woman may have exposed about 40 members of a Marshall church to the disease, Shaw said few people in the Lufkin area have come in contact with her.
“It’s a manageable number of people,” Shaw said. “We have no other reports of any illnesses, even in her family.”
Local health officials have been monitoring the woman’s status since she had the required laboratory tests performed Saturday at Woodland Heights.
“We’re calling twice a day, and she’s monitoring her temperature and symptoms,” Shaw said Tuesday evening. “She, as of today, is feeling much better. The lab work won’t come back for several weeks. We’re just being cautious, based on (Texas Department of Health) and (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines.”
Shaw said there is “a very good possibility” that the Lufkin woman does not have SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
“She has minimal amounts of the symptoms,” she said.
The woman was in the audience with about 40 members of the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church in Marshall on Friday at a performance by a singing group from Texas Bible College in Lufkin.
She had accompanied the college group previously on a visit to Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, the Marshall News-Messenger reported.
The Marshall church's pastor, Rich Lyons, said he had been given a letter by the health department for distribution to those who attended the program, "and I called people yesterday on the phone." Reaction from church members has been "fine," Lyons said, and so far, no one in the church has shown any signs of the disease.
According to the letter, anyone who attended the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church Music Show on May 23 should pay close attention to their health through June 2. Anyone who develops a fever or cough or has trouble breathing should make an appointment with their doctor or go to a hospital emergency room.
"They don't have to quarantine, merely notify the doctor if they have a fever or cough," said Dr. Robert Palmer, head of the Marshall-Harrison County Board of Health, in the News-Messenger story. "But before they go, they need to call and tell them two things: ‘I've been in contact with a suspected SARS case and I've developed a fever and cough.”’
Palmer said it was important for the public not to overreact.
"There is no need to be panicked," he said. "This is called being really cautious. The problems they've had in Canada and China is from lack of follow-up. Better safe than sorry."
Palmer said the Lufkin woman’s case was, to his knowledge, the first possible SARS report in East Texas.
“Any time anyone is coming from an epidemic area, if they develop symptoms, they're classified as a suspect case for SARS,” he said.
The disease has claimed the lives of at least 735 people worldwide, according to an Associated Press story. Since emerging in November in southern China, the virus has infected more than 8,200 people, the AP story stated.
Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Health, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reviewing information the state has provided on the case and will determine whether to add it to the list of seven suspected cases in Texas, none of which are considered probable. Texas has never had a confirmed case of SARS.
Shaw said people in Angelina County do not need to do anything to protect themselves from the virus, other than to continue to follow the headlines about the disease.
“The public needs to be aware that the health district and both (Lufkin) hospitals have already met on this topic on several occasions,” she said. “We were already talking about it long before this ever happened.
“The public does not need to be alarmed. This is an isolated case from someone who has traveled to Taiwan.”
This cat is out of the bag. Prepare now.
Now, I think I have heard it all.
In related news, a confirmed case of SARS actually means a possible case of acne.
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