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CDC Issues Health Alert Notice for Travelers to USA from Hon |
by:
Lynn Bode |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday began distributing cards at airports receiving flights returning directly from Hong Kong warning travelers returning toUnited States from Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China and Hanoi, Vietnam that they may have been exposed to cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The cards are being handed out by quarantine officials at Chicago, O’Hare International Airport; Los Angeles; New York City, JFK International Airport; Newark; and San Francisco. These airports areonly U.S. airports receiving direct flights from Hong Kong. No U.S. airports receive direct flights from Hanoi orGuangdong Province. CDC officials expect to expanddistribution of cards to Anchorage, Alaska andterritory of Guam later today.
The travel cards warn those returning fromthree areas that they should monitor their health for at least seven days. They are also advised to contact their physicians if they become ill withfever accompanied bycough or difficulty in breathing.
The cards also offer guidance designed to assist physicians in makingdiagnosis by advising travelers to tell their physicians about recent travel toaffected regions, and whether they have been in contact with individuals who displayed symptoms of SARS.
As of March onefive, twozerozerothree,CDC had received reports of SARS cases in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China; Hanoi, Vietnam and Canada, Singapore and Thailand. For that reasonWorld Health Organization has issued emergency guidance for travelers and airlines so that persons displaying symptoms ofillness can receive immediate health care and can be brought toattention of public health authorities. These individuals are also advised against traveling while ill.
The CDC advises physicians and other clinicians to be alert for travelers who:
Havefever of onezerozero.four degrees Fahrenheit or higher;
One or more symptoms of respiratory illness including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing, hypoxia (deficiency inamount of oxygen reaching tissues ofbody), X-rays indicatingpresence of pneumonia, or respiratory distress; AND
One or more offollowing:
History of travel to Hong Kong or Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China, or Hanoi, Vietnam within seven days of symptom onset;
Close contact with persons with respiratory illness havingdescribed travel history. Close contact includes having cared for, lived with, or had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids ofperson with SARS.
Additionally, airlines should:
Alertdestination airport of any passengers meetingcase definition criteria;
Arriving passengers who are symptomatic should be referred to health authorities for assessment and care;
Aircraft passengers and crew should be informed ofperson’s status assuspect case of SARS;
The passengers and crew should provide all contact information for how passengers can be reached forsubsequent onefour days to airport health authorities.
CDC advises that persons planning elective or nonessential travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China and Hanoi, Vietnam may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. Detailed information can be found on CDC’s Traveler’s Health Website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/.
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