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CNN Live At Daybreak
SARS Update
Aired April 15, 2003 - 05:49 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn from war in Iraq to a medical battlefront. The World Health Organization now says the respiratory disease known as SARS has infected more than 3,000 people and killed 144 worldwide. It is a medical nightmare, but researchers are making some progress.
CNN's Glenn van Zutphen has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN VAN ZUTPHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. is not a cure for SARS, or even close to it, but it is a key step toward understanding the virus.
JULIE LOUISE GERBERDING, CDC ADMINISTRATOR: We are basically 31 days into this investigation, and the fact that we have international collaborators who not only identified the likely cause of SARS but also have sequenced the virus and have created a number of laboratory tests that look increasingly promising, it's a scientific achievement that I don't think has ever been paralleled in our history.
ZUTPHEN: A Canadian laboratory cracked the virus genetic code over the weekend, giving hope to scientists that they were on the right track toward figuring out where it came from and how it might be diagnosed and treated. The CDC sequencing announcement Monday was nearly identical to that of the Canadians and gives medical detectives vital information.
GERBERDING: Unfortunately, the clues from comparing it to the animal viruses have not given us any real leads in terms of where did it come from. We can't say it's a mouse virus or a pig virus or any other animal virus necessarily because it just isn't similar enough to the known species to be able to draw those conclusions. But having this information is critically important for developing even faster diagnostic tests and certainly should help us in the development of anti-virals and vaccine work down the road.
ZUTPHEN: Gerberding also said researchers at 11 labs around the world have been collaborating to identify the cause of SARS and devise treatment. SARS is a never before seen strain of the human corona virus, which also causes the common cold. There is no cure for SARS, only treatment for the flu-like symptoms.
The illness appears to have originated in southern China last year and spread to 21 countries so far. The CDC says containment procedures appear to be working in Taiwan, Canada and the U.S., but they have not stopped the disease from spreading in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Despite the sequencing advancements over the past few days, the CDC says it could take up to a year to develop a vaccine for SARS.
Glenn van Zutphen, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 April 15, 2003 - 05:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn from war in Iraq to a medical battlefront. The World Health Organization now says the respiratory disease known as SARS has infected more than 3,000 people and killed 144 worldwide. It is a medical nightmare, but researchers are making some progress.
CNN's Glenn van Zutphen has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN VAN ZUTPHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. is not a cure for SARS, or even close to it, but it is a key step toward understanding the virus.
JULIE LOUISE GERBERDING, CDC ADMINISTRATOR: We are basically 31 days into this investigation, and the fact that we have international collaborators who not only identified the likely cause of SARS but also have sequenced the virus and have created a number of laboratory tests that look increasingly promising, it's a scientific achievement that I don't think has ever been paralleled in our history.
ZUTPHEN: A Canadian laboratory cracked the virus genetic code over the weekend, giving hope to scientists that they were on the right track toward figuring out where it came from and how it might be diagnosed and treated. The CDC sequencing announcement Monday was nearly identical to that of the Canadians and gives medical detectives vital information.
GERBERDING: Unfortunately, the clues from comparing it to the animal viruses have not given us any real leads in terms of where did it come from. We can't say it's a mouse virus or a pig virus or any other animal virus necessarily because it just isn't similar enough to the known species to be able to draw those conclusions. But having this information is critically important for developing even faster diagnostic tests and certainly should help us in the development of anti-virals and vaccine work down the road.
ZUTPHEN: Gerberding also said researchers at 11 labs around the world have been collaborating to identify the cause of SARS and devise treatment. SARS is a never before seen strain of the human corona virus, which also causes the common cold. There is no cure for SARS, only treatment for the flu-like symptoms.
The illness appears to have originated in southern China last year and spread to 21 countries so far. The CDC says containment procedures appear to be working in Taiwan, Canada and the U.S., but they have not stopped the disease from spreading in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Despite the sequencing advancements over the past few days, the CDC says it could take up to a year to develop a vaccine for SARS.
Glenn van Zutphen, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
