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US heralds SARS containment `success` with no new cases
Washington, May 07: US health authorities have said that efforts to contain the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United States were a `success,` with no new cases reported in the previous 24 hours.
Washington, May 07: US health authorities have said that efforts to contain the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United States were a "success," with no new cases reported in the previous 24 hours.
There are currently 65 probable cases of SARS in the US
and 255 suspected cases but no reported deaths, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in
Atlanta, Georgia.
"Containment in the United States has been successful," the CDC's Julie Gerberding told a telephone press conference, adding there had been "no evidence of ongoing transmission."
However she acknowledged this was due more to luck than design.
"We still don't know exactly why... we have been fortunate," she said.
Neighbouring Canada has fared far worse, with 23 reported SARS deaths, although the World Health Organisation last week lifted a temporary warning against travel to Toronto, the epicenter of the Canadian outbreak.
The journal of the American Medical Association reported yesterday that two thirds of the SARS cases in the Toronto region were caused by infection within a hospital area.
Meanwhile, Gerberding said, scientists at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in fort Detrick, Maryland, were continuing tests to find an antivirus for SARS, although so far they have not made a breakthrough.
She said the USAMRIID "is aggressively screening compounds. Thousands of compounds remain to be tested." Bureau Report
"Containment in the United States has been successful," the CDC's Julie Gerberding told a telephone press conference, adding there had been "no evidence of ongoing transmission."
However she acknowledged this was due more to luck than design.
"We still don't know exactly why... we have been fortunate," she said.
Neighbouring Canada has fared far worse, with 23 reported SARS deaths, although the World Health Organisation last week lifted a temporary warning against travel to Toronto, the epicenter of the Canadian outbreak.
The journal of the American Medical Association reported yesterday that two thirds of the SARS cases in the Toronto region were caused by infection within a hospital area.
Meanwhile, Gerberding said, scientists at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in fort Detrick, Maryland, were continuing tests to find an antivirus for SARS, although so far they have not made a breakthrough.
She said the USAMRIID "is aggressively screening compounds. Thousands of compounds remain to be tested." Bureau Report