Posted on: Friday, April 4, 2003

Possible SARS cases here drop to 4

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer

The number of possible cases in Hawai'i of the mystery respiratory illness from Asia dropped to four yesterday after laboratory tests indicated another source for one woman's illness, state health officials said.

Dr. Linda Rosen, deputy health director, said that one of the two O'ahu women who had traveled with a tour group to China has been dropped as a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

Rosen emphasized that U.S. health officials use broader criteria to identify suspected cases of SARS than that used in the rest of the world. Rosen and other officials spoke at a briefing before the state House Health Committee to discuss what measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

"We have no confirmed cases (in Hawai'i)," Rosen said. "We feel very reassured that we don't have a dangerous situation here."

Health Committee Chairman Dennis Arakaki asked about striking a balance between caution and anxiety, especially in a state dependent on tourism. "At what point do we decide that we're just alarming people unnecessarily?" Arakaki said. Rosen said it's the job of health officials to act cautiously.

As of yesterday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had received 100 reports of suspected SARS cases in the United States from 28 states, with no deaths and only 23 percent of those patients reporting pneumonia.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization reported 2,270 cases worldwide, with 79 deaths.

State airports officials said that they are on alert and working closely with federal and state health departments. Robert Hansmeier, of the state Department of Transportation, said if arriving passengers are suspected of having SARS, airline officials would report it, the plane would be kept away from others and the door would not open until health officials arrived and took command of the situation.

Hansmeier said the number of visitors to and from Asia is declining. "People are canceling as a result of SARS," he said.

Dr. James Marzolf, of the health department's communicable disease division, said about 4 percent of those who have the disease are dying from it, making it less deadly than many illnesses that we know more about worldwide.

"Part of the anxiety derives from the fact that it's an unknown," he said. And he cautioned against over-reacting. "We don't need to all don masks and run around."