WHO Expands SARS Travel Warning
Travelers Told to Avoid Beijing, Toronto, and Shanxi Province
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Wednesday, April 23, 2003
April 23, 2003 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has added Toronto, Beijing, and the Shanxi province of China to the list of regions travelers should avoid to reduce the risk of becoming infected with SARS (sudden acute respiratory syndrome) and taking the deadly disease back home with them. WHO officials say the travel advisory will remain in effect for at least the next three weeks.
A previous WHO travel advisory warning against travel to Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong province in southern China also remains in effect.
The number of SARS cases reported worldwide today climbed to 4,288, largely due to an increase of 306 cases in mainland China. Since November 2002, SARS has been blamed for at least 251 deaths globally.
The CDC says 37 probable SARS cases have been identified in the U.S. and the agency is currently investigating 202 suspected SARS cases. No SARS-related deaths have been reported in the U.S.
Earlier this week, the CDC issued a travel advisory for Toronto, warning American travelers to take precautions to reduce the risk of SARS infection, such as avoiding hospitals treating SARS patients and large crowds.
David Heymann, WHO executive director of communicable diseases, says the organization bases its travel advisories on the magnitude of the SARS outbreak, including:
The number of cumulative SARS cases
Daily number of new SARS cases being reported
The extent of local transmission of the disease
Evidence that travelers to the affected region are becoming infected and then exporting the disease to other areas and countries
Although the WHO is not restricting travel to the SARS affected areas, their advisories recommend that people postpone all non-essential travel to Beijing, Shanxi province, and Guangdong in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has imposed travel restrictions on its residents in preparation for the May Day holiday on May 1 in an attempt to limit regional transmission of SARS. In Beijing alone, the number of SARS cases reported to the WHO has quickly grown to 482, including 25 deaths, and the Shanxi province has reported 120 cases, including seven deaths.
The rapid spread of SARS in Beijing has also prompted Chinese officials to close schools for two weeks.
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SOURCES: World Health Organization, CDC.
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