Mysterious Asian illness reaches Virginia

Students, faculty and staff planning a trip to Southeast Asia may want to reconsider their travel plans this spring, since a new strain of deadly pneumonia has been traced to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

According to the World Health Organization, since early February, 350 people have been infected and 10 have died from the illness. Officials have named this new strain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, referred to as SARS.

“Fever, shortness of breath, dry cough and muscle aches are some common symptoms of SARS,” said Michael Edmond, hospital epidemiologist for VCU’s Health System. “These symptoms have a lot of similarities to influenza except for the fact that these patients tend to be a lot sicker.”

As of Friday, travelers returning from Asia, and their health-care workers have been the only reported cases. The World Health Organization reported that SARS appears to have an incubation period of three to seven days and strikes only those who have been in close contact with people already infected with the illness.

The Virginia Health Department recently issued a press release concerning two suspected cases in Virginia. One patient lives in Northern Virginia and the other in Central Virginia. Both patients had just returned from trips to Asia.

To prevent contracting the mystery virus, health-care workers wear protective masks, gloves and gowns when caring for patients. Treatment for patients includes keeping the infected in a negative pressure room, where air escape becomes impossible.

“SARS patients are cared for in a similar manner as people suffering from other contagious illnesses such as tuberculosis,” Edmond said. “Researchers now think that the virus is in the paramyxoviridae family (viruses associated with respiratory infections as well as mumps and measles), and right now there is one drug that could be used to treat it: Ribavirin.”

What would Edmond suggest to students, staff and faculty who have similar symptoms and wonder if they could have contracted SARS?

“Aside from people that have recently visited Asia and their health-care workers, at this point there really is no reason to worry about contracting it,” Edmond said. “You have to stay fairly close to an infected person in order to get sick.”