PAHO Advises Member Countries to be Alert for SARS
Washington, DC, December 18, 2003 (PAHO)—The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is advising countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to be on the alert for the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), even though the region is considered at low risk for outbreaks of the disease.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a 44-year-old laboratory worker in Taiwan had been confirmed as the second post-epidemic case of SARS, following a case confirmed in September involving a laboratory worker in Singapore. Both patients are believed to have been infected on the job.
The containment of the international SARS epidemic in Asia earlier this year was the result of effective international public health action, according to Stephen Corber, head of disease prevention and control at PAHO. Nevertheless, SARS must still be considered a potential threat. "There are still many unknowns about SARS. PAHO and WHO are advising countries to be on the alert and build their capacity to detect and respond to potential outbreaks," Corber says.
Currently, the highest risk of new cases of SARS appears to be from exposure in laboratories where the virus is stored and used. As a result, WHO is working to ensure that adequate biosafety procedures are in place in all laboratories working on SARS.
Aside from laboratories, the risk of new SARS outbreaks is considered to be highest in China, where the first cases occurred, followed by countries such as Singapore and Canada, where local transmission followed importation of the disease. Latin America and the Caribbean, along with the United States (which did not experience local transmission), are in the lowest-risk category.
PAHO is advising health officials in the region to integrate SARS monitoring with surveillance of other acute respiratory illnesses (including influenza) and to focus detection efforts on health care settings and clusters of cases. Officials should be on the alert for two or more health care workers in the same setting who present SARS-like symptoms (fever over 100.4º F and respiratory illness) or three or more symptomatic patients, visitors or health care workers in the same hospital in a 10-day period. "This would warrant a laboratory investigation of the suspect cases," Corber says.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of its people. PAHO serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
PAHO Member States today include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States. Portugal and Spain are Observer States. Puerto Rico is an Associate Member.
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