CDC Issues Health Alert About Atypical Pneumonia - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (New SARS site)

Centers for Disease Control ^ | March 15, 2003

[Timesink]

Press Release

March 15, 2003
Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

CDC Issues Health Alert About Atypical Pneumonia

Atlanta: In response to reports of increasing numbers of cases of an atypical pneumonia that the World Health Organization (WHO) has called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced several steps to alert US health authorities at local and state levels.

CDC activated its emergency operations center on Friday, March 14, upon learning of several cases reported in Canada among travelers recently returned from Southeast Asia and their family members. The federal public health agency:

• Issued a health alert to hospitals and clinicians on Saturday, March 15.
• Briefed state health officials on Saturday, March 15.
• Is investigating illness among travelers who may have passed through the United States after having potential exposure to the virus.
• Is preparing health alert cards to give to travelers returning from Southeast Asia.
• Is preparing guidance to assist public health departments, health care facilities and clinicians in monitoring and identifying potential cases.
• Deployed eight CDC scientists to assist the WHO in the global investigation.
• Is analyzing specimens to identify a cause for the illness.

CDC has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) since late February to investigate and confirm outbreaks of this severe form of pneumonia in Viet Nam, Hong Kong, and parts of China. No cases have been identified to date in the United States.

"The emergence of two clusters of this illness on the North American continent indicates the potential for travelers who have been in the affected areas of Southeast Asia to have been exposed to this serious syndrome," said Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, CDC Director. "The World Health Organization has been leading a global effort, in which CDC is participating, to understand the cause of this illness and how to prevent its spread. We do know that it may progress rapidly and can be fatal. Therefore, we are instituting measures aimed at identifying potential cases among travelers returning to the United States and protecting the people with whom they may come into contact."

The WHO issued a global alert about the outbreak on March 12, cautioning that the severe respiratory illness may spread to hospital staff. No link has been made between this illness and any known influenza, including the "bird flu" (A[H5N1]) outbreak reported in Hong Kong on February 19.

# # #

CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

[Timesink]

The CDC now has a SARS web site that is updated as events warrant. The official description:

Information on outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), reported in several countries. Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

The page's current contents:

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Find Your City, County, or State Health Officers
Directories, contacts, hotlines, search features. On StatePublicHealth.org (ASTHO) site.

• CDC Press Release: CDC issues health alert about atypical pneumonia (March 15, 2003)
  In response to reports of increasing numbers of cases of an atypical pneumonia that WHO has called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), CDC has announced several steps to alert U.S. health authorities at local & state levels...
  
  
• CDC Media Advisory: CDC's Response to Atypical Pneumonia in Southeast Asia and Canada (March 15, 2003)
  Transcript from telebriefing
  
  
• CDC Interim Information and Recommendations for Health Care Providers (March 15, 2003)
  Information for clinicians on case finding, evaluation, infection control, treatment, & reporting
  
  
• CDC Health Alert Notice (March 15, 2003)
  For international travelers arriving in or returning to the USA from Hong Kong & Guandong Province in the People's Republic of China & from Hanoi, Vietnam.
  
  
• World Health Organization issues emergency travel advisory (March 15, 2003)
  Due to the spread of SARS to several countries in a short period of time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued emergency guidance for travellers & airlines...
  
  
• CDC Travelers' Health Notice: Acute respiratory syndrome, Hong Kong SAR, Viet Nam, China (March 13, 2003)
  Information on reports of outbreaks of a severe form of pneumonia in Hong Kong, Vietnam, & Guangdong, a province in southern China.
  
  
• WHO issues global alert about cases of atypical pneumonia (March 12, 2003)
  Background information on the outbreaks, which were first reported in Vietnam & Hong Kong
  
  
• Government of Ontario press release: Ontario issues alert about four cases of atypical pneumonia (March 14, 2003)
  Ontario Ministry of Health investigation of cases in Toronto
  
  

Page last modified March 16, 2003

[leadpenny]

Bump

[blondee123]

Original post with replies here original post

[Timesink]

That thread's not a duplicate of this post. Same subject matter, but the first posts are different.

[Mother Abigail]

You come see me child...

[TomB]

Here is the (long awaited) update from the CDC.

[Jim Noble]

It would be very helpful to see a summary of the lab data on the cases.

[capt. norm]

How redundant is the term "severe acute"?

We'll have to run that by the Department of Redundancy Department.

[mewzilla]

Do they know if this is bacterial or viral yet?

[mewzilla]

I think there's acute and there's chronic. Severe acute is worse than severe chronic. I think.

[Vaduz]

People have to stop eating duck in asia

[bonesmccoy]

TomB,
Thanks for the ping.

CDC is being very informative (not!).

Not one lick of mention of any of the serologies, case reports, etc.

It's a page with links to "press releases" which basically say nothing medical (other than if the patient has a fever and a cough, here's what you should do).

What a joke.

The backers of the UN are using this sorry story to attempt to look relevant.

We would be better off without the UN WHO and just Geberding running CDC (focused primarily on multilateral agreements with different nations).

[Timesink]

March 16 Update of CDC SARS website.

[Mother Abigail]

No,

But put your money on Viral

[Mother Abigail]

Bones,

This is the best we have:

Transmission Sequence

The initial case on Feb. 26 was a man admitted to the hospital with it in Hanoi. By this weekend there had been 46 more cases reported in Vietnam. Two died and five are on ventilators. The original case, however, was transferred to Hong Kong, where he infected at least seven health care workers before he died Thursday. The day before, 20 health care workers in Hong Kong developed similar symptoms. By this weekend, more than 100 cases have been reported in Hong Kong alone.

Three people flew from Hong Kong to Singapore carrying the bug, and spread it to 16 more. A Singapore health worker flew to New York and on to Frankfurt, feeling unwell on the flight. German health officials placed this person in quarantine. Another person, who had been in close contact with the original case in Vietnam, flew from Hanoi to Bangkok and is hospitalized in Thailand, where no other cases were reported through Sunday. It is possible that Germany and Thailand both acted fast enough to prevent a further spread.

Lab Work

Lab tests have ruled out some varieties of flu as well as some viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever. However, many other possibilities remain, Heymann said.

Those include "a new strain of influenza" or such exotic diseases as the closely related Hendra and Nipah viruses - both newly recognized, causing flu-like symptoms and capable of being spread from animals to people.
"If it really is the flu, it could be we have a new organism that could cause a pandemic," said Dr. R. Bradley Sack, director of Johns Hopkins' international travel clinic.

Other

The Chinese said 7 percent of patients required breathing tubes, but most eventually got better, especially if they were not also infected with bacteria. The disease seemed to weaken as it passed from person to person.

[texasbluebell]

bookmark

[Mother Abigail]

Note: The Chinese outbreak does not appear to be directly related to the index case in Hanoi, may be a different critter

Regards

Other Info

[CathyRyan]

Now that I have looked at this for a while I am wondering what is really going on in Guandong Province.

[Timesink]

Update: Experts Suspect Virus Is Cause of Asian Mystery Illness