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April 11, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"CDC Steps Up Precautions"

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (04/11/03) P. A24; Stein, Rob

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received a report that a Florida man may have spread severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to a co-worker, which would be the first time in the United States that the disease has spread beyond close contacts.  Federal health officials have asked states to think about tracking people who have had contact with possible SARS cases in the United States.  Neither of the Florida infections have been confirmed as SARS, but if they are, it could mean that the disease spreads more easily than was previously thought.  There have been a few clusters of the disease worldwide that have alarmed public health officials because they were not explained.  The New England Journal of Medicine posted on its Web site this week two studies which show that SARS is caused by a previously unknown type of coronavirus.  Around the world, over 2,700 people in 18 nations are suspected of having contracted SARS, and 111 people have died.

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