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CDC IDs places of suspect SARS cases
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday listed the states where it has found 11 suspected U.S. cases of an atypical pneumonia dubbed severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Two of the cases are in Hawaii, while one case each are in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina , Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, the CDC said in a statement posted on its Web site. The announcement of those locations followed Wednesday's report that as many as 11 people in the United States might have contracted the relatively unknown, severe type of pneumonia that appears resistant to antibiotics and anti-viral agents, the common weapons against pneumonia. So far, no cases of SARS have been confirmed in the United States. It apparently started China or Southeast Asia and has been spread by infected air travelers to Europe and Canada. Health officials cautioned that SARS' symptoms -- a fever above 100.4 degrees F (38 C), a dry cough, and difficulty breathing -- are common at this time of year. The most important factors are recent travel to Asia, close contact with someone who recently traveled to the area or close contact with a health care worker. The CDC said Wednesday that 40 people in the United States reported symptoms, but only 11 had the recent travel history to justify their placement into medical isolation. "It is too early to tell if it's SARS," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said. "Anyone with pneumonia and a travel history is going to be under investigation. ... If you've not gone there, don't be concerned about it at this point." Chinese authorities reported the same syndrome or a similar one in November in Guangdong Province. That outbreak peaked in mid-February after killing five of the 350 people infected. The World Health Organization lists another 264 SARS cases and nine deaths reported from February 1 to March 18. Cases have been reported in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, Britain, Germany, Spain and Slovenia. SARS is spread from person to person, but apparently only through close contact, possibly through "respiratory secretions and body fluids," the CDC said. Nearly all the cases of documented transmission have occurred among family members and health workers involved in the direct care of people suspected of having SARS, according to health experts. Doctors at WHO and the CDC had said Tuesday that preliminary results of tests indicated a link between SARS and the virus class known as paramyxovirus (prono: para-mix-o-virus). Scientists stressed that even if SARS patients have been infected with a paramyxovirus, that doesn't necessarily mean it is the virus causing the atypical pneumonia -- the patients also could be infected with another organism that might be the culprit. Paramyxoviruses cause several respiratory diseases in humans and animals. One of the viruses, parainfluenza, infects almost all children before they reach their fifth birthday, causing illnesses ranging from colds to pneumonia, according to the National Institutes of Health.
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