Cross-border SARS scare

But there's little danger that Texans quarantined after London's air show have the disease, health officials say. RANDY RICHMOND, AND MARISSA NELSON, Free Press Reporters 2003-07-12 03:46:06

A SARS scare boomer-anged from Texas to Ontario yesterday after a group of U.S airmen were isolated on their return from working at London's air show. Officials scrambled to contain the damage to Ontario's image -- already reeling from 39 SARS deaths this year and a plunge in tourism.

"It taints the whole province," said John Winston, Tourism London general manager. "It is the perception that is the most difficult thing to clear. It just sort of reinforces the notion we have it."

There's little danger the 11 people quarantined in Texas and three others under watch there -- a mixture of airmen and family members living near Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Tex. -- have potentially fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome, said health officials in Canada and the U.S.

Health professionals with the 7th Medical Group at the base said initial test results from eight people believed exposed to SARS have come back negative. Two of the eight tested positive for streptococcus pneumonia.

"Although the early samples are negative for SARS coronavirus, more testing is being conducted to rule out infection. Definitive results may not be in for another two to three weeks," a release said.

Chances the Texans have SARS are "virtually nil," said Dr. James Young, Ontario's commissioner of public security. "I'm concerned about the report being put out there. The report causes anxiety in that (Texas) community . . . and causes economic damage here."

The story broke on CNN early yesterday and quickly hit news Web sites and networks in Canada and the U.S.

"We very much want to remove any anxiety or concern," said acting mayor Russ Monteith. "I would have preferred London did not get mentioned on CNN."

It's highly unlikely the Texas airmen could have got SARS from a one-hour layover in Toronto, said Dr. Graham Pollett, medical officer of health for the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

The airmen travelled through Toronto on their way to and from the London air show, held June 27-29.

"Preliminary testing (in Texas) has been negative. We are advised they are improving. The fact none of them are in hospital is an excellent sign and speaks to the unlikelihood this is SARS."

Toronto's 18 SARS patients in hospitals have been ill for a month or longer and experts believe none is still contagious.

The last time anyone caught SARS in Toronto outside a hospital or home of a health-care worker was April 8.

U.S. military officials remained tightlipped about the SARS cases yesterday, confirming London was the location of the air show only when pressed.

The air force would not name the people under quarantine, citing privacy. Nor would they name the jet they worked on, or when their flights arrived and departed.

An air show official confirmed the crew was with a B-1B Lancer bomber from Dyess, displayed at the show.

About a half-dozen ground crew from Dyess took a commercial flight to Toronto June 25, according to air show personnel and Abilene officials.

After an hour-long stopover at Pearson, they took another commercial flight to London. The bomber arrived the next day, flown by an air crew from Dyess.

"They spent several days in the London area," said Capt. David May, chief of public affairs for Dyess.

On June 30 or July 1, the ground crew flew back to Toronto, again waited for about an hour, then caught a flight back to Texas.

"They did not leave the airport. It was straight there and straight back," May said.

The World Health Organization dropped Toronto from its SARS-affected list July 2, after the city went 20 days, or two full incubation periods, without a new SARS case.

Days ago, one of the ground crew who'd been to London reported to the Dyess medical clinic complaining of "mild to moderate respiratory symptoms," the Abilene health department said. "Those symptoms include a fever, respiratory symptoms such as coughing or difficulty breathing. . . ."

When medical staff learned the man had been through Toronto, they isolated him under U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules.

Two other airmen who went through Toronto then showed symptoms, as did six others in contact with the airmen.

Late yesterday, two more people in Abilene connected to the base complained of symptoms and were quarantined, raising the total to 11, and three others were put under watch. "They all had contact with the airmen," said Lt. Saje Park at Dyess.

Initial test results for eight of those in quarantine were negative for SARS, Abilene's health department reported, although more testing is being done to rule it out.

- Pollett said he was told two crew members from Dyess who went to the air show complained of symptoms only after arriving home June 30.

- But Abilene officials said there were three crew members who complained of symptoms after travelling through Toronto July 1.

- The doctor in charge of their treatment contradicted reports the air crew felt sick only after arriving home. One mechanic reported to U.S. authorities he felt sick in London, said Dr. John Gullett at Hendrick Health System, a hospital for base personnel and civilians.

"The U.S. Air Force personnel who were in London for the air show do not pose any threat to those who attended."

Even if one airman had got SARS in Toronto, the illness wouldn't have had enough time to incubate by the time he reached London, he said.

U.S. media outlets reported yesterday three of the nine first put in quarantine were family members.

Air show organizer Barry McGonigle did not return calls yesterday, but Wilson Boynton, director of aircraft support for the show, said he doubted anyone got SARS in Toronto. "I think it's an overreaction."

Only a handful of airport employees were working the weekend of the air show, said Mike Seabrook, vice-president of London International Airport. "We're taking direction from the health authorities and they haven't said there's any reason for alarm."

The latest figures on Toronto's SARS outbreak, released yesterday by Ontario's Health Ministry. Figures are compared with those issued Thursday:

Ground crew of B-1B Lancer long-range bomber arrives from Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Tex., on a commercial flight to Toronto, then heads to the London Airshow and Balloon Festival.

Bomber remains on ground in static display at air show. Air and ground crews stay in London hotel. One feels ill. Bomber likely flies out June 30.

Ground crew flies out, back through Toronto. One-hour stopover at Pearson International Airport. The next day, Toronto is taken off the World Health Organization's travel advisory list.

Sometime this week, a member of the ground crew complains of respiratory problems. Medical staff learn he was in Toronto. They also learn another ground crew member felt ill in London. Eleven people in Texas are quarantined.

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3 posted on 07/12/2003 6:52:32 PM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)

Thank you for the ping, DC. It will be a while before these folks can be definitively cleared; this points out the difficulty--if SARS should emerge in an unlikely place, how seriously will folks take the quarantine? Not too seriously, is my guess. We'll have to wait and see what happens...

4 posted on 07/12/2003 7:47:44 PM PDT by Judith Anne (Lead me not into tempation....I can find it by myself....)

Let's keep a close eye on this potential outbreak. Sounds like nothing to worry about at this time, I don't know how reassuring that will be to the Londoners though.

"A report this morning; it was not SARS!"

Good deal, thanks. (But, is it too soon to be able to determine that conclusively?)

is it too soon to be able to determine that conclusively?

The patients tested positive for a pneumonia bacterium.

8 posted on 07/13/2003 2:07:00 PM PDT by Squawk 8888 (Everyone knows you can't have a successful conspiracy without a Rockefeller)

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