CDC: 22 in U.S. May Have Mystery Illness
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 7:36 pm
AP
ATLANTA - Nine more people in the United States are suspected of having the mysterious flu-like illness that has sickened hundreds in Asia, the federal government said Friday.
A total of 22 people in this country now are suspected of being sickened by severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites). Eleven suspected U.S. cases were announced by the CDC on Monday and two more were added Wednesday.
"We need to be highly vigilant," Gerberding said. The suspected cases involve people who recently have been to Asia and developed fever and respiratory problems.
In one case, an ill traveler from Asia may have infected two health workers. Another traveler to Asia is suspected of spreading the illness to a family member. Gerberding declined to identify where the patients live.
The CDC Web site, which had not been updated with the latest numbers, listed three cases in California, two in North Carolina, and one case each in Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Federal officials have said those who haven't recently traveled to Asia don't have to worry about the illness.
Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, an X-ray indicating pneumonia or difficulty breathing, accompanied by a temperature of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius); close contact in the past 10 days with someone who has SARS or a visit in the past 10 days to one of the locations where the disease has turned up — primarily eastern Asia.
ATLANTA - Nine more people in the United States are suspected of having the mysterious flu-like illness that has sickened hundreds in Asia, the federal government said Friday.
A total of 22 people in this country now are suspected of being sickened by severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites). Eleven suspected U.S. cases were announced by the CDC on Monday and two more were added Wednesday.
"We need to be highly vigilant," Gerberding said. The suspected cases involve people who recently have been to Asia and developed fever and respiratory problems.
In one case, an ill traveler from Asia may have infected two health workers. Another traveler to Asia is suspected of spreading the illness to a family member. Gerberding declined to identify where the patients live.
The CDC Web site, which had not been updated with the latest numbers, listed three cases in California, two in North Carolina, and one case each in Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Federal officials have said those who haven't recently traveled to Asia don't have to worry about the illness.
Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, an X-ray indicating pneumonia or difficulty breathing, accompanied by a temperature of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius); close contact in the past 10 days with someone who has SARS or a visit in the past 10 days to one of the locations where the disease has turned up — primarily eastern Asia.