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American Morning
Mystery Pneumonia
Aired March 19, 2003 - 08:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to page Dr. Gupta about the latest global effort to identify a mystery pneumonia-like disease that has killed over two dozen people on two continents.
Sanjay is out this morning, but Elizabeth Cohen is in.
Good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Paula, they may have found the virus that has caused these 219 cases of mystery pneumonia. This pneumonia is actually officially called SARS, -- severe acute respiratory syndrome -- and the virus that they think it might be is a paramyxvirus. Now a paramyxvirus virus which is in the same class of viruses of measles and mumps. There are lots of different kinds of paramyxvirus viruses. And this kind that they found would be a totally new one. Antiviral drugs usually do not work against paramyxvirus viruses. Sometimes they work if you get to the patient soon enough.
Labs in Hong Kong and Germany labs have found this paramyxvirus virus, or what they think could be a paramyxvirus virus. The tests are preliminary. They need to do more work. If they find that it is this, it gives doctors a starting point to try to figure out a way to treat this virus, which so far was killed four people -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, Elizabeth, You hear these numbers, and none of us are really too sure how concerned we should be about this. What do you say to us?
COHEN: Right, the answer is, is that the vast majority of Americans do not need to be concerned about this. If you start feeling sick, it is probably not this SARS syndrome. The people who need to be concerned are people who have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher and some kind of breathing problems or cough, and -- this is the crucial part -- have recently returned from Hong Kong, Vietnam, or the Guangdong province in China or have had close contact with people who have traveled in those areas. If you haven't traveled there and you haven't had close contact with people who've traveled there, then you don't need to worry about this. That's what health officials are saying right now.
Now because of these problems, the Centers for Disease Control has issued an advisory to travelers. The CDC says that you may want to reconsider trips to these areas. You may want to reconsider trips to Hong Kong, Guangdong province in China and Hanoi, Vietnam if you don't absolutely have to make them, that's what the CDC is advising people.
ZAHN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 19, 2003 - 08:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to page Dr. Gupta about the latest global effort to identify a mystery pneumonia-like disease that has killed over two dozen people on two continents.
Sanjay is out this morning, but Elizabeth Cohen is in.
Good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Paula, they may have found the virus that has caused these 219 cases of mystery pneumonia. This pneumonia is actually officially called SARS, -- severe acute respiratory syndrome -- and the virus that they think it might be is a paramyxvirus. Now a paramyxvirus virus which is in the same class of viruses of measles and mumps. There are lots of different kinds of paramyxvirus viruses. And this kind that they found would be a totally new one. Antiviral drugs usually do not work against paramyxvirus viruses. Sometimes they work if you get to the patient soon enough.
Labs in Hong Kong and Germany labs have found this paramyxvirus virus, or what they think could be a paramyxvirus virus. The tests are preliminary. They need to do more work. If they find that it is this, it gives doctors a starting point to try to figure out a way to treat this virus, which so far was killed four people -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, Elizabeth, You hear these numbers, and none of us are really too sure how concerned we should be about this. What do you say to us?
COHEN: Right, the answer is, is that the vast majority of Americans do not need to be concerned about this. If you start feeling sick, it is probably not this SARS syndrome. The people who need to be concerned are people who have a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher and some kind of breathing problems or cough, and -- this is the crucial part -- have recently returned from Hong Kong, Vietnam, or the Guangdong province in China or have had close contact with people who have traveled in those areas. If you haven't traveled there and you haven't had close contact with people who've traveled there, then you don't need to worry about this. That's what health officials are saying right now.
Now because of these problems, the Centers for Disease Control has issued an advisory to travelers. The CDC says that you may want to reconsider trips to these areas. You may want to reconsider trips to Hong Kong, Guangdong province in China and Hanoi, Vietnam if you don't absolutely have to make them, that's what the CDC is advising people.
ZAHN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
