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American Morning
Top Health Officials Trying to Stem Spread of SARS in North America
Aired April 22, 2003 - 08:43 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Top health officials say they're facing an uphill battle as they try to stem the spread of SARS in North America. The deadly respiratory is believed to have originated in China, but the second largest concentration of cases outside of Asia is now in Canada.
For more on this, we are paging our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN Center.
Hello, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Heidi.
The numbers are something that people have sort of become fascinated with, and they change everyday. Let's take a look at the newest numbers now around the world and around the United States: 228 cases in the United States, zero SARS deaths still in the United States, 3,861 around the world, 217 worldwide deaths. It has affected 35 states now around the United States, and it's affected 27 countries around the world.
So really, the sort of amazing epidemiological disease. And, Heidi, as I mentioned, people getting pretty caught up in the numbers, watching those numbers increase, as they have been every day.
But really from an epidemiological standpoint, from a health care standpoint, it's important to think about every individual. They talk about 26 possible cases in New York now. How important is one individual? Well, this is what Dick Thompson of the World Health Organization had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK THOMPSON, WHO: One individual can have a significant impact. It was one individual that brought the disease into Hong Kong. It was one individual who brought the disease in Toronto. So one individual can have an enormous impact on public health system, especially on hospitals. And that's why we pay so much attention to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: And certainly a lot of attention is being paid to it. One respiratory doctor calling it the 911 of respiratory disease.
Listen, there have been some victories, and there have been some defeats. People who are now coming from these countries that are affected in the United States are met by health care workers with cards, urging them to look for symptoms of SARS. There's actually for the first time in a long time for an infectious disease, the president can actually mandate an isolation or a quarantine of individuals suspects who have SARS as well.
As far as victories go, it's interesting, Heidi. Over the last six weeks, a new disease has been identified. The infectious agent which causes this disease has been identified. Three tests to test for the disease have been identified. And the entire genome has been sequenced. Those are some victories. There have been some challenges still lie ahead. We don't have a treatment yet. Certainly, there are also the question of what are called local infections. There are 19 of these. People who never visited China or Hong Kong, supposedly never came in contact with someone with SARS, still got the disease. How's it happening? They don't know. So some challenges still lie ahead as well -- Collins.
COLLINS: Yes, that's sounds like a serious challenge, Sanjay. I want to ask you about someone we spoke with and we'll hear from late on in the show, a gentlemen man did travel to China. It was never completely confirmed that he had SARS, though they did exhibit all of the symptoms, he was quarantined, and he survived. I want to know about how easy that is. I mean, how fatal is SARS?
GUPTA: Right. He is not alone. Most of the people like this gentleman you're speaking of will survive. If look at the numbers, they're early numbers, only two months worth of data or so, 95 percent of people will recover and survive, 5 percent of people have died from SARS so far. People can get very sick with SARS. Ten to 20 percent of people who get it require a ventilator ICU stay, things like that.
But, Heidi, you know, we're talking about perspectives today. It's important to keep in mine that the flu, the common flu, 36,000 people a year die from that. Have you heard those kinds of numbers about SARS, everybody would be dumbfounded, everybody would be scared. But we know how to control the flu, it's just a question of people actually doing it.
COLLINS: Good, though, to put it in perspective for us. Thanks so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
North America>
Aired April 22, 2003 - 08:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Top health officials say they're facing an uphill battle as they try to stem the spread of SARS in North America. The deadly respiratory is believed to have originated in China, but the second largest concentration of cases outside of Asia is now in Canada.
For more on this, we are paging our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN Center.
Hello, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Heidi.
The numbers are something that people have sort of become fascinated with, and they change everyday. Let's take a look at the newest numbers now around the world and around the United States: 228 cases in the United States, zero SARS deaths still in the United States, 3,861 around the world, 217 worldwide deaths. It has affected 35 states now around the United States, and it's affected 27 countries around the world.
So really, the sort of amazing epidemiological disease. And, Heidi, as I mentioned, people getting pretty caught up in the numbers, watching those numbers increase, as they have been every day.
But really from an epidemiological standpoint, from a health care standpoint, it's important to think about every individual. They talk about 26 possible cases in New York now. How important is one individual? Well, this is what Dick Thompson of the World Health Organization had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK THOMPSON, WHO: One individual can have a significant impact. It was one individual that brought the disease into Hong Kong. It was one individual who brought the disease in Toronto. So one individual can have an enormous impact on public health system, especially on hospitals. And that's why we pay so much attention to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: And certainly a lot of attention is being paid to it. One respiratory doctor calling it the 911 of respiratory disease.
Listen, there have been some victories, and there have been some defeats. People who are now coming from these countries that are affected in the United States are met by health care workers with cards, urging them to look for symptoms of SARS. There's actually for the first time in a long time for an infectious disease, the president can actually mandate an isolation or a quarantine of individuals suspects who have SARS as well.
As far as victories go, it's interesting, Heidi. Over the last six weeks, a new disease has been identified. The infectious agent which causes this disease has been identified. Three tests to test for the disease have been identified. And the entire genome has been sequenced. Those are some victories. There have been some challenges still lie ahead. We don't have a treatment yet. Certainly, there are also the question of what are called local infections. There are 19 of these. People who never visited China or Hong Kong, supposedly never came in contact with someone with SARS, still got the disease. How's it happening? They don't know. So some challenges still lie ahead as well -- Collins.
COLLINS: Yes, that's sounds like a serious challenge, Sanjay. I want to ask you about someone we spoke with and we'll hear from late on in the show, a gentlemen man did travel to China. It was never completely confirmed that he had SARS, though they did exhibit all of the symptoms, he was quarantined, and he survived. I want to know about how easy that is. I mean, how fatal is SARS?
GUPTA: Right. He is not alone. Most of the people like this gentleman you're speaking of will survive. If look at the numbers, they're early numbers, only two months worth of data or so, 95 percent of people will recover and survive, 5 percent of people have died from SARS so far. People can get very sick with SARS. Ten to 20 percent of people who get it require a ventilator ICU stay, things like that.
But, Heidi, you know, we're talking about perspectives today. It's important to keep in mine that the flu, the common flu, 36,000 people a year die from that. Have you heard those kinds of numbers about SARS, everybody would be dumbfounded, everybody would be scared. But we know how to control the flu, it's just a question of people actually doing it.
COLLINS: Good, though, to put it in perspective for us. Thanks so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
North America>
