The Hindu : SARS: more needs to be done

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

International

International

SARS: more needs to be done

WASHINGTON April 16. More needs to done to defend against the deadly virus, said Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 7.

"The emergence of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has reminded us yet again that we must not become complacent.''

In her prepared statement given before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour and Pensions, Dr. Gerberding called SARS "an emerging global microbial threat.''

``It is not possible to adequately protect the health of our nation without addressing infectious disease problems that are occurring elsewhere in the world,'' Dr. Gerberding testified. She noted that much progress had been made in the last decade to better the nation's capability to deal with the threat of infectious diseases, but surveillance and laboratory capacity must still be improved.

The CDC is recommending that persons "postpone non-essential travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Hanoi, Vietnam.'' Anyone who has travelled to affected areas and experiences flu-like symptoms is instructed to contact a physician.CDC is participating in an international collaboration of health agencies working to analyse the nature of the virus causing SARS and developing strategies to contain it.

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