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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Dr. Carlos del Rio
Aired April 19, 2003 - 16:43 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: With SARS reaching the United States, many of us are understandably asking some tough questions. What are the chances that SARS could spread in this country, and what can we do to protect ourselves and our families against the virus? Well, let's try to get some of those answers right now. And I'm joined in the studio by Dr. Carlos del Rio. Dr. del Rio is an associate professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. He's also chief of medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and is a leading expert on infectious diseases. And Dr. del Rio joins me now. Thanks. Good to see you.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Nice to be here.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, since the United States is very much a well-traveled nation, how concerned do people need to be that SARS just might make its way and spread in this nation, just as we've seen in others?
DEL RIO: I think that SARS is clearly at this point limited to Southeast Asia and a few cases occurring also on this continent, primarily in Canada, especially in Toronto. But as you mentioned, I think it's just a matter of time before, through travel, we can see cases in other countries like what you describe in India and other places.
I think people need to be aware that this is a new illness. I think that at this point in time, the major risks of traveling to the cities where there's a high risk of infection, and primarily, people should try to avoid, if possible, travel to Southeast Asia, travel to Hong Kong, to China, to Vietnam, to Singapore. And also, be concerned about traveling to Toronto.
WHITFIELD: There's also been an awful lot of criticism in the medical community about the handling of these SARS cases, particularly in China, which is still believed to be the -- one of the original places of this infectious disease spreading. And now, as well as Canada, for not, perhaps, quarantining a large group, about 500 patients, early on. Does this criticism, in any way, help in the investigation of finding out how this even started, SARS?
DEL RIO: SARS is really a disease that presents us a challenge in global public health. So I think a global collaboration through WHO, CDC, the different health ministries is critical, and everybody needs to do whatever they need to do to that respect, whether it's good public health, good surveillance, good containment, good quarantining, all those things need to be coordinated and they need to be the same around the world. I think it's going to be very difficult to have different plans, different options and different countries doing different things.
Clearly, in China, what we have seen is a lot of denial from the part of the government, and I think that's a very bad thing to have in any public health issue. What we've seen in Canada is very hard to explain. I think the situation in Canada suggests that cases spread very rapidly. And again, I remind people that most cases of SARS have occurred -- have spread within hospital settings. So clearly, it's at the hospital where most people are at risk nowadays.
WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk about prevention, or at least the efforts to try to prevent or even detect these cases before they get blown out. The World Health Organization already has a test that it's been using to try and detect who has SARS. But it's received a bit of criticism that it's not quite perfect. Emory University is now has a test. Tell me a little bit more about the test that you all have and how competitive it is with the WHO.
DEL RIO: Again, you know, Emory has been able to secure the test that was developed by investigators in Germany. All the tests at this point, none of them are clinically approved, none of them are FDA approved. These tests are being developed, and nobody really knows how good they are. And I think more experience is clearly needed in order to say which test is good and which test it isn't. But to have a test that you're able to send over to use clinically, to use in any clinical setting, you'll have to have that test approved by the FDA, go through a series of procedures, and none of the tests currently available has done that.
WHITFIELD: At this point, the best advice that you and other doctors are giving, is just try to avoid regions like in the Southeast Asia in terms of traveling, to try to avoid getting SARS.
DEL RIO: And again, if you go there or if you have contact with somebody who's been in those regions and you develop symptoms of SARS, primarily fever, what appears to be like a bad flu, you need to go to your doctor and you need to be sure that this is considered an option.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Carlos del Rio, thank you very much, of Emory University, thanks for joining us.
DEL RIO: Thank you.
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 19, 2003 - 16:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: With SARS reaching the United States, many of us are understandably asking some tough questions. What are the chances that SARS could spread in this country, and what can we do to protect ourselves and our families against the virus? Well, let's try to get some of those answers right now. And I'm joined in the studio by Dr. Carlos del Rio. Dr. del Rio is an associate professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. He's also chief of medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and is a leading expert on infectious diseases. And Dr. del Rio joins me now. Thanks. Good to see you.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Nice to be here.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, since the United States is very much a well-traveled nation, how concerned do people need to be that SARS just might make its way and spread in this nation, just as we've seen in others?
DEL RIO: I think that SARS is clearly at this point limited to Southeast Asia and a few cases occurring also on this continent, primarily in Canada, especially in Toronto. But as you mentioned, I think it's just a matter of time before, through travel, we can see cases in other countries like what you describe in India and other places.
I think people need to be aware that this is a new illness. I think that at this point in time, the major risks of traveling to the cities where there's a high risk of infection, and primarily, people should try to avoid, if possible, travel to Southeast Asia, travel to Hong Kong, to China, to Vietnam, to Singapore. And also, be concerned about traveling to Toronto.
WHITFIELD: There's also been an awful lot of criticism in the medical community about the handling of these SARS cases, particularly in China, which is still believed to be the -- one of the original places of this infectious disease spreading. And now, as well as Canada, for not, perhaps, quarantining a large group, about 500 patients, early on. Does this criticism, in any way, help in the investigation of finding out how this even started, SARS?
DEL RIO: SARS is really a disease that presents us a challenge in global public health. So I think a global collaboration through WHO, CDC, the different health ministries is critical, and everybody needs to do whatever they need to do to that respect, whether it's good public health, good surveillance, good containment, good quarantining, all those things need to be coordinated and they need to be the same around the world. I think it's going to be very difficult to have different plans, different options and different countries doing different things.
Clearly, in China, what we have seen is a lot of denial from the part of the government, and I think that's a very bad thing to have in any public health issue. What we've seen in Canada is very hard to explain. I think the situation in Canada suggests that cases spread very rapidly. And again, I remind people that most cases of SARS have occurred -- have spread within hospital settings. So clearly, it's at the hospital where most people are at risk nowadays.
WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk about prevention, or at least the efforts to try to prevent or even detect these cases before they get blown out. The World Health Organization already has a test that it's been using to try and detect who has SARS. But it's received a bit of criticism that it's not quite perfect. Emory University is now has a test. Tell me a little bit more about the test that you all have and how competitive it is with the WHO.
DEL RIO: Again, you know, Emory has been able to secure the test that was developed by investigators in Germany. All the tests at this point, none of them are clinically approved, none of them are FDA approved. These tests are being developed, and nobody really knows how good they are. And I think more experience is clearly needed in order to say which test is good and which test it isn't. But to have a test that you're able to send over to use clinically, to use in any clinical setting, you'll have to have that test approved by the FDA, go through a series of procedures, and none of the tests currently available has done that.
WHITFIELD: At this point, the best advice that you and other doctors are giving, is just try to avoid regions like in the Southeast Asia in terms of traveling, to try to avoid getting SARS.
DEL RIO: And again, if you go there or if you have contact with somebody who's been in those regions and you develop symptoms of SARS, primarily fever, what appears to be like a bad flu, you need to go to your doctor and you need to be sure that this is considered an option.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Carlos del Rio, thank you very much, of Emory University, thanks for joining us.
DEL RIO: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
