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Little
Rock –
The Arkansas Department of Health’s
(ADH) first “Probable Case” of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS, a visitor to Arkansas, has
been discharged from hospitalization and is fully
recovered. The
patient is now en route to a home country outside the
United States. This
acute illness resulted in the patient’s family being
quarantined as well, but based on the patient being away
from home for 10 days, and complete recovery,
the family was removed from quarantine last Friday.
Staff
at the hospital have been actively monitored for
illness. No
staff member has developed the infection.
SARS
is a respiratory illness that has recently been reported
in Asia, North America and Europe. Scientists at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
other laboratories have detected a previously
unrecognized coronavirus in patients with SARS. The new
coronavirus is the viral agent most likely responsible
for this infection.
“The
health department has been actively involved in the
investigation of this case since the patient was
admitted to the hospital,” Dr. Joe Bates, deputy
medical director for the ADH, said. “It appears that
all of the appropriate measures were taken
to isolate the patient and protect caregivers.
The news that this patient is fully recovered and going
home is very uplifting.
Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief.
The medical and epidemiologic teams involved in
this investigation are to be commended for effective
prevention and treatment strategies.”
As
of June 3, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports
8,384 SARS cases in 31 countries, including the United
States. The CDC reports 365 suspect and probable SARS in
the United States.
No
one in the United States has died from the infection.
According
to the CDC, there are two case definitions for SARS, a
“Suspect Case” or a “Probable Case.” A suspect
case is a person with a temperature of 100.4 degrees
or higher who
has one or more respiratory symptoms (including cough,
shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing) and one or
more of the following: close contact (within 10 days of
onset of symptoms) with a person who has been diagnosed
with SARS; history of travel (within 10 days of onset of
symptoms) to an area in which there is community
transmission of SARS.
A
probable case is a person
meeting the suspect case definition who also has
chest x-ray findings of pneumonia or Respiratory
Distress Syndrome, or a person
who died from
an unexplained respiratory illness, with an autopsy
examination demonstrating the pathology of Respiratory
Distress Syndrome without an identifiable cause.
Individuals
who have not traveled to those areas reporting SARS
cases within 10 days or who have not had close contact
with a case should not be suspected of having
SARS. People who fit one of the two criteria should be
suspected of having SARS and should seek medical
attention immediately.
“Arkansans
can assist us by becoming familiar with the symptoms and
criteria for SARS,” Dr. Bates said.
The
general public can get more information through the CDC
hotline at: English
(888) 246-2675, Español (888) 246-2857, and TTY (866)
874-2646. The hotlines operate Monday through Friday
from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9
a.m. to 7 p.m.
For
updated numbers on suspect SARS cases in the U.S., visit
the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/sars.htm.
Additional information on SARS is available at www.cdc.gov
and www.who.int
and is being updated frequently as new information
becomes available.
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