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CNN Live Saturday

Will SARS Come Back This Year?

Aired December 20, 2003 - 14:25   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.


HOLLY FIRFER, CNN ANCHOR: Epidemic proportions, that's the word on the 2003 flu season from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The flu outbreak nearly covers the U.S. map. Flu shots are hard to come by, if not impossible to find and the CDC has opened its emergency operation center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: The epidemic is widespread in 36 states. We know that we have experienced many deaths. So far we are reporting 42 deaths among children, influenza is not a reportable illness formally in any state right now, but we are working with our states to develop reporting mechanisms so that we can learn about deaths in children, obviously this is very sobering and very worrisome to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIRFER: With children hard-hit this season, schools and child- care centers are washing downing desks and doorknobs to keep flu risks at a minimum. Officials say with such a severe start to the flu season, the number who will likely die will pass 92, the number who dies in an average year.

A SARS scare in Taiwan. Health workers releasing a dozen people from quarantine today. They came in contact with a researcher who was infected with the SARS virus. Most of those quarantined were on an airplane flight with the scientist. Officials in Singapore have lifted quarantine orders for 75 others who were on that flight.

SARS arrived on the scene about this time last year and it sickened 8,000 people and killed more than 700. What are the prospects for the respiratory illness this season? We now talk with Dr. Stephen Corber, manager of Decease Prevention and Control of the Pan-American Health Organization. He joins us from Washington. Welcome.

DR. STEPHEN CORBER, PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Hi.

FIRFER: First of all, what is the current status of SARS, worldwide?

CORBER: Well at this point we have no cases, except the case that you referred to in Taiwan, China. And so at this point, there are no human cases of SARS.

FIRFER: Now is it something that's seasonal, that we will see come back at a certain time of year? Some what like the flu? CORBER: It's really hard to tell, we've only had one experience. So on the basis of one, it's very difficult to predict the future. We really don't know.

FIRFER: So speaking of last year, what lessons have we learned from last year's outbreak and are we equipped to handle another outbreak, should it occur again this year?

CORBER: We're much better equipped then we were obviously last year and we've learned a lot of lessons, although we're not in perfect place. We learned that our communications systems work and we learned of the importance of communicating. And I think if the disease emerges again in China, for example, we'll hear about it much quicker. We've learned an isolation practice, if it is done quickly, within five days, will virtually eliminate the spread. And so we know that is extremely important. We know that how it is spread, particularly in hospital workers and certain procedures being much more dangerous, shall we say, for hospital workers, and so we know what kind of precautions to take for there. And we know certain drugs don't work, most of them don't. And the type of support mechanisms, ventilator, and nutritional that we have to have but of course, we don't have a rapid diagnosis yet. We don't have a cure, and we don't have a vaccine. So we're in better shape than we were, but we're not in perfect shape.

FIRFER: You mentioned the vaccine, I want to talk about that briefly is there a vaccine in the pipeline? Does it take a long time to create a vaccine for something like this? Are we even close?

CORBER: Well, vaccines often take up to ten years to develop from scratch. Obviously, as can you imagine with SARS, we're on a fast-track procedure, particularly in Canada and also in the United States. But even so, I would think it would be at least a year before we could see an effective SARS vaccine.

FIRFER: All right, Dr. Stephen Corber, thank you for joining us today.

CORBER: You're welcome.

END

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 December 20, 2003 - 14:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN ANCHOR: Epidemic proportions, that's the word on the 2003 flu season from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The flu outbreak nearly covers the U.S. map. Flu shots are hard to come by, if not impossible to find and the CDC has opened its emergency operation center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: The epidemic is widespread in 36 states. We know that we have experienced many deaths. So far we are reporting 42 deaths among children, influenza is not a reportable illness formally in any state right now, but we are working with our states to develop reporting mechanisms so that we can learn about deaths in children, obviously this is very sobering and very worrisome to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIRFER: With children hard-hit this season, schools and child- care centers are washing downing desks and doorknobs to keep flu risks at a minimum. Officials say with such a severe start to the flu season, the number who will likely die will pass 92, the number who dies in an average year.

A SARS scare in Taiwan. Health workers releasing a dozen people from quarantine today. They came in contact with a researcher who was infected with the SARS virus. Most of those quarantined were on an airplane flight with the scientist. Officials in Singapore have lifted quarantine orders for 75 others who were on that flight.

SARS arrived on the scene about this time last year and it sickened 8,000 people and killed more than 700. What are the prospects for the respiratory illness this season? We now talk with Dr. Stephen Corber, manager of Decease Prevention and Control of the Pan-American Health Organization. He joins us from Washington. Welcome.

DR. STEPHEN CORBER, PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Hi.

FIRFER: First of all, what is the current status of SARS, worldwide?

CORBER: Well at this point we have no cases, except the case that you referred to in Taiwan, China. And so at this point, there are no human cases of SARS.

FIRFER: Now is it something that's seasonal, that we will see come back at a certain time of year? Some what like the flu? CORBER: It's really hard to tell, we've only had one experience. So on the basis of one, it's very difficult to predict the future. We really don't know.

FIRFER: So speaking of last year, what lessons have we learned from last year's outbreak and are we equipped to handle another outbreak, should it occur again this year?

CORBER: We're much better equipped then we were obviously last year and we've learned a lot of lessons, although we're not in perfect place. We learned that our communications systems work and we learned of the importance of communicating. And I think if the disease emerges again in China, for example, we'll hear about it much quicker. We've learned an isolation practice, if it is done quickly, within five days, will virtually eliminate the spread. And so we know that is extremely important. We know that how it is spread, particularly in hospital workers and certain procedures being much more dangerous, shall we say, for hospital workers, and so we know what kind of precautions to take for there. And we know certain drugs don't work, most of them don't. And the type of support mechanisms, ventilator, and nutritional that we have to have but of course, we don't have a rapid diagnosis yet. We don't have a cure, and we don't have a vaccine. So we're in better shape than we were, but we're not in perfect shape.

FIRFER: You mentioned the vaccine, I want to talk about that briefly is there a vaccine in the pipeline? Does it take a long time to create a vaccine for something like this? Are we even close?

CORBER: Well, vaccines often take up to ten years to develop from scratch. Obviously, as can you imagine with SARS, we're on a fast-track procedure, particularly in Canada and also in the United States. But even so, I would think it would be at least a year before we could see an effective SARS vaccine.

FIRFER: All right, Dr. Stephen Corber, thank you for joining us today.

CORBER: You're welcome.

END

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com