2
possible SARS cases in Oneida County
June 10, 2003
ELIZABETH
COOPER
Observer-Dispatch
Oneida County health officials announced Monday that
two possible cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome
were detected in the county over the weekend.
One
case has been labeled as probable, and the other is
being called a suspected case. Both individuals are
adults who had recently returned from Toronto, where
many SARS cases have been reported.
SARS
has prompted concern worldwide since first being identified
three months ago in China. The virus has proven to have
a high death rate in Asia, and health officials have
yet to fully understand how it works.
To
maintain patient confidentiality, the names and workplaces
of the individuals have not been released.
The
Health Department also declined to disclose where in
the county the people live, or even which area hospital
made the diagnoses. The relationship between the two,
if there is one, has not been revealed.
"This
is not a cause for alarm," County Executive Ralph
J. Eannace Jr. said Monday. "It is cause for heightened
awareness."
The
two patients went to the emergency room Saturday with
SARS-like symptoms, County Epidemiologist Ken Shilkret
said. They had been in Toronto the previous weekend.
Susan
Blatt, a physician consultant with the county health
department, said the patients have been asked to remain
at home so they do not spread the disease if they have
it.
Health
officials stressed that people should not panic.
Of
the 379 cases nationwide, there have been no fatalities,
and none of the cases in New York state have been serious,
said Kristine Smith, a spokeswoman for the New York
State Health Department.
"Neither
(patient) is very sick," said Blatt, a physician
consultant with the health department. "They're
a little disturbed right now about what's going on."
Health
officials urged anyone who fears they may have SARS
to contact a doctor immediately. For a SARS diagnosis,
a patient must have recently been to Toronto or other
SARS hotspot.
Symptoms
include a fever of 100.4 degrees and respiratory symptoms
such as shortness of breath or cough.
Shilkret
said the health department is working with the individuals'
work places, families and the hospitals where they were
diagnosed to monitor anyone who may have had contact
with them.
If
any of those people manifests symptoms, they will have
to stay home for at least 72 hours. If the symptoms
abate, they then will be allowed to return to work.
If
not, they will continue to be monitored at home, Shilkret
said.
Shilkret
plans to interview the patients today to determine their
movements while in Toronto. So far, he knows they did
not go to any Toronto hospitals, but spent most of their
time in the city's business district.
Smith
said there have not been any instances of person-to-person
SARS transmission in New York state, and all state cases
were contracted elsewhere and contained.
Twenty-nine
probable SARS cases have existed statewide outside New
York City, including two in Jefferson County, five in
Onondaga County and one in Broome County.
"We
learn about (each case) very quickly because the surveillance
here is very comprehensive," she said. "We
are all looking very closely and moving very quickly
when a potential case is identified."
Because
the disease is so new, tests for SARS are still being
refined, and no local facilities are equipped to perform
them. Even the state Health Department must send its
specimens to the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta.
Specimens
from the two Oneida County patients will be sent away
for testing.
Meanwhile,
the patients are taking their temperatures twice a day
and reporting the findings to the county health department
by telephone, Shilkret said. They are not taking any
medications, Blatt said.
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