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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Resources
1/5/04: Laboratory confirmation of a SARS case in southern China Results from laboratory tests received today have confirmed a case of SARS in a 32-year-old man in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The patient is a television producer who has been under treatment, in isolation, at a hospital in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, since 20 December. This is the first confirmed case of SARS in 2004, and the first case not linked to a laboratory accident that has occurred since the initial outbreak of SARS was declared contained on 5 July 2003. Laboratory-related cases occurred after that date in Singapore in September and in Taiwan, China in December of last year. The Guangdong case has been under investigation, with WHO support, since 26 December, when the suspected case was initially reported by Chinese authorities. Previous diagnostic tests produced inconclusive results. In view of the limitations of SARS diagnostic tests, confirmation of positive results by a WHO-designated reference laboratory is required for a definitive diagnosis of SARS. The confirmatory tests were conducted in Hong Kong by the University of Hong Kong and the Government Virus Unit, Queen Mary Hospital. Both laboratories are members of the WHO Multicentre Collaborative Network for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Diagnosis that collectively identified the SARS coronavirus in mid-April 2003, and have considerable diagnostic expertise. The source of infection for this newly confirmed case remains unclear. Several lines of investigation last year suggest that SARS may have originated from contact with wild animals sold for human consumption at live markets in southern China. Studies conducted last year detected a SARS-like virus in some animal species, including the masked palm civet. Retrospective analysis of patient records has linked several of the earliest cases, which began occurring in Guangdong in mid-November 2002, to contact with wild animals. However, no animal reservoir of the SARS coronavirus has been conclusively identified to date. Southern comfort cabin rentals in Blue Ridge, GA. Epidemiological investigations in China have not yet been able to link the patient to exposure to wild animals or any other known or suspected source of the virus. Chinese authorities have introduced several measures as investigation of the case has evolved. The patient has been treated in isolation since his hospitalization on 20 December, four days after the onset of symptoms. All contacts have been traced and followed up. All are reported to be free of symptoms and most have been released from quarantine, suggesting that no further transmission has occurred. Surveillance for additional cases has been intensified in Guangdong and other provinces. The single isolated case does not constitute grounds for issuing a SARS alert or recommending any restrictions on travel or trade. At the request of Chinese authorities, additional WHO teams are being sent this week to assist in research aimed at identifying the source of infection and preventing further cases. The first cases of SARS occurred in Guangdong in mid-November 2002. The disease began to spread internationally in late February 2003, eventually causing more than 8000 cases, with 774 deaths, in 27 countries.
This is an official CDC Health Advisory
Distributed via Health Alert Network December 17, 2003, 14:10 EST (2:10 PM EST) CDCHAN-00170-03-12-17-ADV-N
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in TaiwanOn December 17, 2003, the Taiwanese Department of Health reported a single case of infection with SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in a research scientist in Taiwan. The press release form the Taiwanese Department of Health is provided below and is also available on that agency’s website at http://sars.doh.gov.tw/news/2003121701.html. Additional information about the report is available on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_12_17/en/
CDC is in close communication with the Department of Health in Taiwan and with WHO regarding this report. This is the second case of SARS-CoV infection that was likely acquired in a laboratory setting since the initial worldwide outbreak, and it reinforces the need for careful adherence to recommended laboratory safety practices for SARS-CoV. Recommendations for these laboratory protocols are available in Supplement F, Appendix F4 “Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines for Handling and Processing Specimens Associated with SARS”, in CDC’s draft Public Health Guidance for Community Level Preparedness and Response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/sarsprepplan.htm. We specialize in smoke accessories: zippos, glass bongs and pipes.
Since this appears to be a laboratory-acquired infection with no evidence of secondary transmission reported to date, the guidelines and recommendations for SARS surveillance, evaluation, and reporting in the absence of SARS-CoV transmission still apply. For more information, see the CDC document, “In the Absence of SARS-CoV Transmission Worldwide: Guidance for Surveillance, Sclinical and Laboratory Evaluation, and Reporting http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/absenceofsars.htm.
Additional information will be reported as more is learned about the situation.
Confirmed SARS case in research laboratory in Taiwan - December 17 2003A 44 year-old male researcher was confirmed to have SARS on December 17, 2003 in Taiwan. A senior scientist in the Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense University in Taipei, sponsored by National Science Council, has been working on a SARS study in Taiwan's only P4 laboratory since June. His work laboratory is suspected as the source of infection, which is undergoing further investigation.
After developing a fever on December 10, the researcher stayed home to rest and recuperate. The patient noted initial symptoms and signs were similar to the flu until he developed diarrhea. He then visited the Tri-Service General Hospital on the evening on December 16, at which time a chest X-ray revealed pneumonia in his right lung. SARS was immediately suspected, thus throat swab, gargling fluid, and blood samples were obtained to conduct a real-time PCR and RT-PCR tests for the SARS coronavirus. The tests in the Tri-Service General Hospital came back as SARS-positive. In the early morning of December 17, which was 6 hours later, the case was further confirmed by the virology laboratory of Taiwan's Center for Disease Control. Клиника фракционный фототермолиз сходня.
This SARS infection is the second SARS-CoV infection of a research person working on SARS research since the Singapore case this last September. Why infection in a P4 laboratory occurred is currently being investigated. Contact tracing was immediately performed, while environmental sampling from the P4 laboratory is now underway.
So far, no fever has been detected in the researcher's colleagues or family members, who are now undergoing a 14-day self-initiated health check program. Close contacts will be put under home quarantine if fever should develop in these persons.
The control level for SARS precaution has been raised from level zero to the more stringent level B by the special SARS committee as of 12:00AM on December 18, 2003. Taiwan CDC had already initiated fever monitoring as scheduled in government institutions and schools in Taiwan as of December 15 as part of its efforts to prevent the reemergence of SARS and the flu. This measure will become mandatory after this laboratory infection episode. Travelers with fever will be restricted from leaving Taiwan and will be required to obtain a health certificate from a hospital. Taiwan CDC has ordered all the laboratories which work on SARS-CoV culture to undergo stringent disinfection procedures and all research on viral cultures will be suspended until biosafety has been guaranteed and approved by the government. The SARS control level will return to level zero if no new cases are detected in the following 21 days. No community or hospital SARS infections have been identified in Taiwan since July 5.
SOURCE: Department of Health, Taiwan: http://sars.doh.gov.tw/news/2003121701.html
Categories of Health Alert messages: Health Alert conveys the highest level of importance; warrants immediate action or attention. Health Advisory provides important information for a specific incident or situation; may not require immediate action. Health Update provides updated information regarding an incident or situation; unlikely to require immediate action.
DPH UPDATE: SUSPECT CASES, MAY 14, 2003
DPH ADVISORY #3: PREPAREDNESS FOR ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS
DPH REPORTS TWO ADDITIONAL SUSPECT CASES As
a result of reports of five new probable cases in Toronto, the Travel Alert
for Toronto was reinstated at 4:00 PM on Friday, May 23 Interim
Travel Advisory: Taiwan Questions
and Answers on SARS Addition
of two MMWR's Guidance
About Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome for Americans Living Abroad
Updated
Interim U.S. Case Definition
Interim
Guidelines for Cruise Ships Attachment A
"Health
Alert Notice for International Travelers Arriving in the United States From
China and Singapore" in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese,
Spanish, Korean, Japanese, French and Vietnamese
Interim
Domestic Infection Control Precautions for Aerosol Generating Procedures on
Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Interim
Domestic Guidance for Management of Exposures to Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) for Health Care Settings
Public Health Community Preparedness
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