Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
House Call: 3,547 Cases of SARS Worldwide
Aired April 21, 2003 - 07:56 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On this Monday, our daily "House Call" returns today. And the health story that is dominating the headlines around the world: the rising death toll from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, otherwise known as SARS.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta back with us, no longer embedded; embedded now at the CNN Center.
Good to see you, Sanjay -- good morning. This continues to get more and more serious by the day.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No question, Bill. And the numbers have changed significantly over the weekend. Why don't we go there first and look at the number of cases around the world: 3,547 cases now around the world, 182 deaths.
Bill, you can look at the United States as well: 220 cases, no deaths in the United States.
Let's take a look at a map -- you can take a look there -- at all of the states that are affected now by SARS: 35 states around the country; 23 countries now around the world.
Bill, this has been a remarkable health story on so many different fronts: Just over the last two months a new disease has been identified; the virus that causes the disease has been identified; three tests to test for the virus has been identified; and now they're sequencing the genome -- a really remarkable health care story.
Besides the numbers, what makes this so complicated, so difficult to figure out are the symptoms, which are so amazingly similar to the cold and the flu.
Let's take a look at some of the common symptoms of SARS. You can see there: high fever, cough, shortness of breath. Those are all symptoms that are associated with many, many illnesses, Bill. That's why there are so many -- quote/unquote -- "suspected cases." A lot of those cases won't be confirmed as SARS, but what we are seeing is a lot of them are as well.
Is this a health care crisis? Absolutely, Bill. But there has been a lot of progress made -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. We'll talk more about it. We'll talk with you again in about 35 minutes about your embed experience with the Devil Docs. 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 21, 2003 - 07:56 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On this Monday, our daily "House Call" returns today. And the health story that is dominating the headlines around the world: the rising death toll from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, otherwise known as SARS.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta back with us, no longer embedded; embedded now at the CNN Center.
Good to see you, Sanjay -- good morning. This continues to get more and more serious by the day.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No question, Bill. And the numbers have changed significantly over the weekend. Why don't we go there first and look at the number of cases around the world: 3,547 cases now around the world, 182 deaths.
Bill, you can look at the United States as well: 220 cases, no deaths in the United States.
Let's take a look at a map -- you can take a look there -- at all of the states that are affected now by SARS: 35 states around the country; 23 countries now around the world.
Bill, this has been a remarkable health story on so many different fronts: Just over the last two months a new disease has been identified; the virus that causes the disease has been identified; three tests to test for the virus has been identified; and now they're sequencing the genome -- a really remarkable health care story.
Besides the numbers, what makes this so complicated, so difficult to figure out are the symptoms, which are so amazingly similar to the cold and the flu.
Let's take a look at some of the common symptoms of SARS. You can see there: high fever, cough, shortness of breath. Those are all symptoms that are associated with many, many illnesses, Bill. That's why there are so many -- quote/unquote -- "suspected cases." A lot of those cases won't be confirmed as SARS, but what we are seeing is a lot of them are as well.
Is this a health care crisis? Absolutely, Bill. But there has been a lot of progress made -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. We'll talk more about it. We'll talk with you again in about 35 minutes about your embed experience with the Devil Docs. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
