(March 23, 2003) -- At 7:00 p.m. PST on Sunday night March 23, the Centers for Disease Control issued an updated interim travel advisory warning U.S. citizens (especially those traveling with children) to defer nonemergency travel to Vietnam, and continued suggesting postponement of non-essential travel to Hong Kong and PRC's Guangdong Province until further notice, as a result of the frequently fatal flu/severe pneumonia termed "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome" (SARS).
The CDC updated travel advisory states in pertinent part:
The U.S. Department of State has authorized the departure, on a voluntary basis, of family members at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Because of health concerns in Vietnam about SARS, the current capacity of health-care facilities to accept and manage SARS cases, and the lack of readily accessible medical evacuation services, the Department of State warns U.S. citizens, particularly those traveling with children, to defer nonemergency travel to Vietnam at this time. The full text of this announcement is available at Dept. of State announcement re travel to Vietnam.
CDC continues to advise that people planning elective or nonessential travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, China, may wish to postpone their trips until further notice.
On March 21 LBReport.com reported that six suspected SARS cases were under investigation in CA. The CDC web site did not indicate where in CA the six suspected cases under investigation are.
The atypical pneumonia has struck travelers recently returned from Hong Kong; Guangdong Province in the People’s Republic of China; Hanoi, Vietnam and Singapore.
The CDC noted that numbers of suspected cases are expected to fluctuate as additional information becomes available.
The CDC website (www.cdc.gov) devotes a special page to detailed information on SARS and provides updated information.
The Centers for Disease Control reported that as of March 21 there were 22 U.S. cases -- including 6 in CA -- of the mysterious severe (and frequently fatal) flu and severe pneumonia ("Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome") suspected and under investigation.
As previously reported by LBReport.com, L.A. County health officials reported on March 17 that they were investigating one suspected case in Los Angeles County. The CDC web site did not indicate where in CA the six cases suspected and under investigation are.
The atypical pneumonia has struck travelers recently returned from Hong Kong; Guangdong Province in the People’s Republic of China; Hanoi, Vietnam and Singapore.
The CDC noted that numbers of suspected cases are expected to fluctuate as additional information becomes available.
The CDC website (www.cdc.gov) devotes a special page to detailed information on SARS.