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American Morning

SARS Scare

Aired April 24, 2003 - 09:18   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: Is it caution or overreaction? That's the question concerning the spread of SARS in Canada. The World Health Organization has added Toronto to its list of SARS- related travel advisers, warning against all unnecessary travel to that city. But Canadian officials say that warning is based on incomplete information.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at CNN Center now with more on this.

Hi, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.

The World Health Organization has now put Toronto in the same category as Hong Kong and some other parts of China -- don't go there unless you have to. Let's take a look at the SARS numbers in Canada. In Canada, there are 140 probable cases. In addition, there are 190 suspected cases. Those cases have not risen to the level of being probable. And 16 deaths. It's gotten to the point where Major League Baseball is expected to tell players not to sign autographs while they are in Toronto.

And as we said, the WHO says don't go unless you have to.

Now Health Canada, which is the Canadian health authority, has said that they disagree with this. In fact, they had a press conference yesterday where they said it has made them frustrated. The Canadian health authorities were saying...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PAUL GULLY, CANADIAN HEALTH MINISTRY: We do not support the World Health Organization's position. We believe it is safe to travel to Toronto. We do challenge the WHO's assertion that Toronto is an unsafe place to visit, and we'll make our challenge formally to a letter we sent to the World Health Organization today. There is no evidence of casual transmission of SARS in Toronto. And every case can be linked back to the original index case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, I'll translate some of that public health talk. There are basically what the health official in Canada was saying, is that all of the cases in Canada can be traced back to the original person who brought SARS from Canada. In other words, they say that the epidemic is not wildfire. You can trace back. There's been a contact from person to person to person. And for that reason, they think that the WHO has overreacted, but world the Health Organization Says, look, Canada is an exporter of SARS. There have been a few people, a few tourists, who have gone to Toronto who have become ill and, gone back to their own countries, including the United States, and for that reason, they say there should be that travel advisory for Toronto -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, Elizabeth, if you are careful, can you go to Toronto? Or just forget about it all together?

COHEN: Well, you know, Heidi, the unfortunate situation is it depends who you want to believe. The World Health Organization says don't go unless you really have to. The CDC thinks that is an overreaction. They think people should go to Toronto if they want to, but that they should take certain precautions. There's a whole list of things you should do if you choose to go to Toronto. Let's look at those.

They say that you should assemble a medical kit which includes gloves and masks. They say you don't need to wear them while you are there, but you should have them just in case. You should avoid close contact with large groups. You should wash your hands frequently. And you should monitor your health while you are in Toronto and for 10 days after. The reason for that 10 days after, is that if you did get infected with SARS while you were there, the incubation time can be as long as 10 days, so you need to monitor your health for that period of time -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

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 24, 2003 - 09:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is it caution or overreaction? That's the question concerning the spread of SARS in Canada. The World Health Organization has added Toronto to its list of SARS- related travel advisers, warning against all unnecessary travel to that city. But Canadian officials say that warning is based on incomplete information.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at CNN Center now with more on this.

Hi, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.

The World Health Organization has now put Toronto in the same category as Hong Kong and some other parts of China -- don't go there unless you have to. Let's take a look at the SARS numbers in Canada. In Canada, there are 140 probable cases. In addition, there are 190 suspected cases. Those cases have not risen to the level of being probable. And 16 deaths. It's gotten to the point where Major League Baseball is expected to tell players not to sign autographs while they are in Toronto.

And as we said, the WHO says don't go unless you have to.

Now Health Canada, which is the Canadian health authority, has said that they disagree with this. In fact, they had a press conference yesterday where they said it has made them frustrated. The Canadian health authorities were saying...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PAUL GULLY, CANADIAN HEALTH MINISTRY: We do not support the World Health Organization's position. We believe it is safe to travel to Toronto. We do challenge the WHO's assertion that Toronto is an unsafe place to visit, and we'll make our challenge formally to a letter we sent to the World Health Organization today. There is no evidence of casual transmission of SARS in Toronto. And every case can be linked back to the original index case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, I'll translate some of that public health talk. There are basically what the health official in Canada was saying, is that all of the cases in Canada can be traced back to the original person who brought SARS from Canada. In other words, they say that the epidemic is not wildfire. You can trace back. There's been a contact from person to person to person. And for that reason, they think that the WHO has overreacted, but world the Health Organization Says, look, Canada is an exporter of SARS. There have been a few people, a few tourists, who have gone to Toronto who have become ill and, gone back to their own countries, including the United States, and for that reason, they say there should be that travel advisory for Toronto -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, Elizabeth, if you are careful, can you go to Toronto? Or just forget about it all together?

COHEN: Well, you know, Heidi, the unfortunate situation is it depends who you want to believe. The World Health Organization says don't go unless you really have to. The CDC thinks that is an overreaction. They think people should go to Toronto if they want to, but that they should take certain precautions. There's a whole list of things you should do if you choose to go to Toronto. Let's look at those.

They say that you should assemble a medical kit which includes gloves and masks. They say you don't need to wear them while you are there, but you should have them just in case. You should avoid close contact with large groups. You should wash your hands frequently. And you should monitor your health while you are in Toronto and for 10 days after. The reason for that 10 days after, is that if you did get infected with SARS while you were there, the incubation time can be as long as 10 days, so you need to monitor your health for that period of time -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

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