SARS Could Be Airborne, Says Top US Health Official

April 1, 2003

SARS could be spread through the air, making it far more contagious than previously thought, says a senior US health official.

"Under certain circumstances, at least, it may be airborne," said Dr Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control in the US.Advertisement
Health officials previously said that they believed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was transmitted by coming into contact with "droplets" from a sneezing or coughing patient.

"We are seeing large outbreaks, for example in an apartment complex in Hong Kong, where airborne transmission certainly is a possibility," Dr Gerberding
said.

Hong Kong put an entire housing estate in isolation on Monday after SARS claimed two more lives there.

16 people have died in Hong Kong after contracting SARS.

The Hong Kong government said on Tuesday that SARS had infected 75 more people in the territory, bringing the total number of cases to 685.

It was the highest recorded infection in a day since the outbreak.

Fifty-two of the new cases were discovered at the Amoy Gardens housing estate in Kowloon district, which has been sealed off and placed in isolation after more than 200 residents came down with SARS in less than a week.

Dr Gerberding told CNN that health experts still do not have enough information about SARS, saying, "We have ways to go before we can predict where this is all going to take us."

She did say, though, that many people are recovering, and that in some cases hospitalization is not neccessary.

"But it is still something that can be very serious," she said.

Dr Gerberding said that "common sense" precautions -- similar to those used to protect against any respiratory illness during flu season -- would be most
effective against SARS.

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