Another Suspected SARS Case Reported In San Diego

Individual In Isolation At Home

POSTED: 5:42 p.m. PDT April 24, 2003 UPDATED: 5:48 p.m. PDT April 24, 2003

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County officials announced Thursday that the region has its second suspected case of severe acute respiratory syndrome. "The individual had been traveling in China, and is now in isolation at home," said Leslie Ridgeway of the county. "The individual has not been hospitalized."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals remain isolated for 10 days after the fever associated with suspected SARS has gone away.

Ridgeway said the county is not releasing any details about the new suspected case, including the patient's gender or age.

The county's Public Health Services Community Epidemiology Department has investigated a person who was in contact with the person suspected of having SARS, Ridgeway said, adding precautions were being taken.

A woman earlier identified as a suspected SARS case is now well, Ridgeway said.

That earlier case involved a woman who had returned to San Diego from China and had a sustained temperature and a dry cough. Those are criteria for detecting the mysterious illness, formally known as severe acute respiratory syndrome, that cropped up in recent months in Asia. She, too, had been in isolation at home.

While the illness has taken 263 lives worldwide, there apparently have been no deaths from SARS in the United States, Ridgeway said. The disease is not fatal to most people, according to the county.

The criteria for SARS include:

A fever of greater than 100.4 degrees, which may be associated with headache, chills, general discomfort and body aches; A dry, unproductive cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; A person who has traveled in China, Singapore, Hanoi, Vietnam or Toronto, Canada, within 10 days of the onset of symptoms; A person who has had close contact with someone who might have SARS within 10 days of the onset of symptoms.

California has 35 suspect and 14 probable cases under investigation, according to the county.

Those concerned they might have SARS should see their doctor, but call before being seen, according to the county. Copyright 2003 by TheSanDiegoChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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