Official says U.S. able to contain SARS threat
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
Hawai'i's state epidemiologist returned from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convinced that bioterrorism preparation has established a network that is slowing the U.S. spread of SARS from Asia.
Dr. Paul Effler returned Monday from a CDC "epidemic intelligence session" in Atlanta. The session was scheduled before the worldwide alert to severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, but Effler said the the new illness dominated the discussion.
Learn more about SARS
"Our primary defense lies in early detection," Effler said. He said samples from suspect Hawai'i cases are being analyzed by CDC laboratories, but he does not yet know when test results will be available.
Effler said increased communication and cooperation means that physicians around the world share information about symptoms and suspected cases and can quickly identify or rule out the illness.
So far, Hawai'i has reported five suspected cases, but all of the women involved experienced relatively mild illnesses and have recovered. Three of the women recently visited Asia and then reported fever and respiratory problems. Two healthcare workers on Kaua'i reported possible symptoms after being exposed to one of the women, who had traveled to China.
Effler said another possible case was ruled out last week when laboratory results found another illness — Haemophilus influenza — had infected an O'ahu woman. State health officials continue increased surveillance of local healthcare organizations to try to pick up any signs of illness as early as possible.
Worldwide, the World Health Organization reported 2,671 cases yesterday afternoon, with 103 deaths. As of yesterday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had received 148 reports of suspected SARS cases in the United States with no deaths.
Suspected cases include fever higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit and one or more respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and either close contact with a person diagnosed with SARS or recent travel to areas with documented transmission of SARS.
Effler said the broad definition sweeps in a fairly wide number of people. "A lot of the cases will be attributed to other causes," he said.
