History of travel to Hong Kong or Guangdong Province

The Centers for illness Control & Prevention on saturday commenced distributing cards at airports receiving flights returning without delay from HK alert travelers returning to the U. S. from HK & Guangdong Province, people’s republic of China & Hanoi, Vietnam that they might have been exposed to cases of serious acute respiration syndrome .

The cards are being distributed by quarantine officials at Chicago, O’Hare international airport ; los angeles ; old York town, JFK world airfield ; Newark ; & San Francisco. These airfields are the only U.S. Airports receiving direct flights from HK. No U.S. Airfields receive direct flights from Hanoi or the Guangdong Province. CDC officials expect to grow the distribution of cards to port, Alaska & the territory of Guam later today.

The cards also offer guidance engineered to assist doctors in making a diagnosis by advising travelers to tell their physicians about recent travel to the affected regions, & whether they have been in contact with individuals who displayed symptoms of SARS.

The travel cards warn those returning from the 3 areas that they should monitor their health for a minimum of three days. They’re also suggested to contact their physicians if they get ill with a fever accompanied by a cough or difficulty in breathing.

The CDC advises consultants & other clinicians to stay alert for travelers who:

As of March 15, 2003, the CDC had received reports of SARS cases in HK & Guangdong Province, people’s republic of China ; Hanoi, Vietnam & Canada, Singapore & Thailand. For that reason the World Health Organization has issued emergency steerage for travelers & airlines so that persons showing evidence of the illness can receive immediate health care & can be brought to the attention of public health authorities. These people are also advised against travelling while ill.

Have a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher ;

one or more symptoms of breathing sickness including cough, lack of breath, problem in breathing, hypoxia ( insufficiency in the quantity of oxygen reaching tissues of the body ), X-rays indicating the presence of pneumonia, or respiration trouble ; &

one or more of the following:

History of travel to hong kong or Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China, or Hanoi, Vietnam within three days of symptom onset ;

Close contact with people with breathing illness having the described travel history. Close contact includes having cared for, lived with, or had direct contact with respiratory secretions & body liquids of someone with SARS.

Additionally, airlines should:

Alert the destination airport of any passengers meeting the case definition standards ;

Arriving passengers who are symptomatic should be referred to health authorities for assessment & care ;

The passengers & crew should provide all contact info for how passengers can be reached for the subsequent 14 days to airfield health authorities.

Aircraft passengers & crew should be informed of the person’s standing as a suspect case of SARS [*SCO].