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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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Press Release
For Immediate Release
March 24, 2003
Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
CDC Lab Analysis Suggests New Coronavirus
May Cause SARS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that
a previously unrecognized virus from the coronavirus family is the leading
hypothesis for the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Two
coronaviruses that are known to infect humans cause one third of common
colds and are also a common cause of health care-associated upper
respiratory infections in premature infants.
This is encouraging news from our laboratories at CDC, said Tommy G.
Thompson, Secretary of Health and Humans Services. These and other
excellent scientists all over the world have been working around the clock
for days and their hard work is paying off. They continue to look at other
possible causes of SARS, but this is a key finding in our efforts to
identify the cause of this global outbreak.
Additional steps needed to confirm this hypothesis include further
culturing of the virus from appropriate specimens, sequencing the viral
genome, and examining specimens from patients at different stages of their
illness.
This collaboration among scientists led by the World Health Organization
(WHO) is unprecedented, said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. We
certainly have more work to do, but we think we are on the right track. And
our systems to identify cases and investigate them are working too, thanks
to all the frontline clinicians and state and local health departments
around the country.
As of Monday, March 24, CDC is reporting 39 suspected SARS cases in 18
states. WHO is reporting 456 cases and 17 deaths.
Since the outbreak of SARS was first reported two weeks ago, CDC has
responded in these ways:
- Activated the agencys Emergency Operations Center.
- Alerted public health partners in cities and states by issuing
electronic messages.
- Prepared and distributed more than 60,000 health alert cards to
travelers returning from Southeast Asia.
- Provided guidance to public health departments, health care
facilities, and clinicians in monitoring and identifying potential cases.
- Provided safe specimen-handling guidelines to laboratories.
- Deployed more than a dozen CDC staff members, including medical
officers, epidemiologists, infection control specialists, and pathologists
to support the World Health Organization in the global investigation.
- Provided regular media briefings to report on progress of the
investigation.
Additional information about SARS in the United States and globally is
available at the following websites:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars
http://www.who.int/csr/sarscountry/en/
Information on SARS-related travel advisories is available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/acute_resp_syn_multi.htm
http://travel.state.gov/
# # #
CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling
diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible
information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through
strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.
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