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Mystery illness may be related to common cold

Hospital Safety Connection, March 26, 2003

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The mysterious pneumonia-like illness spreading around the world could be caused by a virus related to the common cold, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the disease, called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is a new strain of coronavirus, which causes about half of all common colds.

Department of Defense laboratories plan to quickly develop diagnostic reagents for the virus, and will also test a variety of antiviral drugs to see if any can slow or halt infections.

As of March 24, there were 419 cases of SARS in 13 countries, as well as 39 suspected cases in 18 U.S. states. The disease caused 17 deaths in Hong Kong, Canada, and Vietnam. The totals do not include 300 more suspected cases and five deaths reported earlier in China.

Most of the early cases of SARS were among health care workers exposed to victims, but as infection control measures improve, most new cases now occur among family members and others in close contact with victims.

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