SARS – BEPAST email updates, March 13 2003
Subject: WHO global alert for atypical pneumonia spreading to medical persons
The World Health Organization (WHO) March 12th issued a global alert (see attached file from their website) for a severe acute febrile respiratory syndrome that starts as a "flu-like" illness and has lead to respiratory failure in some persons. The cause is still unknown.
Of note, the disease may spread readily to Hospital Staff. Possibly 20 hospital workers in one hospital in Hanoi and 23 more HCWs in one Hong Kong hospital are reported by WHO as having an undiagnosed febrile respiratory illness. "Those at highest risk appear to be staff caring for the patients".
In Hanoi, lab tests showed low platelets and low white cell count. Chest X-ray showed "bilateral pneumonia" in some cases, sometimes requiring a ventilator. "Some patients are recovering but some remain critically ill".
For now "WHO recommends patients with atypical pneumonia who may be related to these outbreaks be isolated with barrier nursing techniques...cases be reported to national health authorities."
The WHO web address is: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr22/en/print.html
Also, as of today the CNN.com/health website states that the index case in Hanoi with this disease was a 50 year old American businessman who was admitted to a Hanoi hospital with a severe respiratory disease after traveling in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Following his admission, more than 20 staff in the Hanoi hospital fell sick with similar symptoms and some have developed pneumonia...requiring..a respirator."
Since our hospitals and medical clinics in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region see travelers from Hong Kong, Vietnam, and China it might be prudent to notify by
emails and website postings all regional clinical care and public health providers about this WHO global alert in cases we see patients who have this yet undiagnosed disease.
Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH
Director, Center for Biologic Counterterrorism & emerging Diseases
Washington Hospital Center
cell: 614-226-2643