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Researchers Have SARS Suspect
Aired May 23, 2003 - 14:29 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hong Kong researchers say they may have traced Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome to a type of cat considered a tasty delicacy in China.
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more on this. Interesting.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Very interesting. Now, since this outbreak started in March, the prevailing theory is that SARS came from animals, and that it made the jump from animals to people.
Well, now, researchers at the University of Hong Kong think they may have found those animals. They looked at several different species, and found the SARS virus in two species, and the first is the raccoon dog, and there you see it there, kind of self-explanatory why that is called a raccoon dog, because it kind of looks like both, and the second is the Himalayan palm civet, which some call a civet cat, but, in fact, it is more closely related to the mongoose.
Now, both of these creatures are eaten commonly in China, and have been for centuries, but they don't think that people in China actually got SARS from eating it. What they think is that when people were raising them, handling them like you just saw, or handling the meat and preparing the meat, that that's how they got the virus.
In fact, they have noticed that many restaurants, people who work in restaurants, or people who work in markets, actually had SARS. Pretty high percentage of them had SARS, compared to the rest of the population. So that's the theory from the folks at the University of Hong Kong.
Now, the CDC and the World Health Organization have not said that they think this is absolutely it, but they have said that when they did DNA sequencing, that the DNA for the SARS virus in these animals -- and it's called the corona virus, actually, pretty much matched, very, very closely matched the SARS virus in humans. So since it's so close, that's what makes them think that that's where it came from.
PHILLIPS: Are they kept as pets also, or is this just something on the delicacy front?
COHEN: As far as the SARS part of it is concerned, it is more the delicacy front, because people -- you handle them and they handle the meat, and so before it is cooked. That's, I think, where more of the concern is.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the World Health Organization lifted the travel restrictions today, right?
COHEN: Yes, it is kind of interesting, given this news. There's another piece of news, just coincidentally, which is that the World Health Organization has lifted its travel advisory on Guangdong province and on Hong Kong. Guangdong province is where it's thought SARS began to begin with. Now, there is still a travel advisory on Beijing, and also on four other provinces in China, but they said that those -- that Guangdong province and Hong Kong are no longer exporters of SARS, so they say you don't need to worry about traveling there in the same way that you did before.
PHILLIPS: I am just curious -- yesterday, we talked about this doctor with the CDC possibly having SARS. Do you have an update on that?
COHEN: Update on that is he got on a plane today, on a charter flight, and is headed towards Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, 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 May 23, 2003 - 14:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hong Kong researchers say they may have traced Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome to a type of cat considered a tasty delicacy in China.
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more on this. Interesting.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Very interesting. Now, since this outbreak started in March, the prevailing theory is that SARS came from animals, and that it made the jump from animals to people.
Well, now, researchers at the University of Hong Kong think they may have found those animals. They looked at several different species, and found the SARS virus in two species, and the first is the raccoon dog, and there you see it there, kind of self-explanatory why that is called a raccoon dog, because it kind of looks like both, and the second is the Himalayan palm civet, which some call a civet cat, but, in fact, it is more closely related to the mongoose.
Now, both of these creatures are eaten commonly in China, and have been for centuries, but they don't think that people in China actually got SARS from eating it. What they think is that when people were raising them, handling them like you just saw, or handling the meat and preparing the meat, that that's how they got the virus.
In fact, they have noticed that many restaurants, people who work in restaurants, or people who work in markets, actually had SARS. Pretty high percentage of them had SARS, compared to the rest of the population. So that's the theory from the folks at the University of Hong Kong.
Now, the CDC and the World Health Organization have not said that they think this is absolutely it, but they have said that when they did DNA sequencing, that the DNA for the SARS virus in these animals -- and it's called the corona virus, actually, pretty much matched, very, very closely matched the SARS virus in humans. So since it's so close, that's what makes them think that that's where it came from.
PHILLIPS: Are they kept as pets also, or is this just something on the delicacy front?
COHEN: As far as the SARS part of it is concerned, it is more the delicacy front, because people -- you handle them and they handle the meat, and so before it is cooked. That's, I think, where more of the concern is.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the World Health Organization lifted the travel restrictions today, right?
COHEN: Yes, it is kind of interesting, given this news. There's another piece of news, just coincidentally, which is that the World Health Organization has lifted its travel advisory on Guangdong province and on Hong Kong. Guangdong province is where it's thought SARS began to begin with. Now, there is still a travel advisory on Beijing, and also on four other provinces in China, but they said that those -- that Guangdong province and Hong Kong are no longer exporters of SARS, so they say you don't need to worry about traveling there in the same way that you did before.
PHILLIPS: I am just curious -- yesterday, we talked about this doctor with the CDC possibly having SARS. Do you have an update on that?
COHEN: Update on that is he got on a plane today, on a charter flight, and is headed towards Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, 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
