3rd Case of SARS in NJ

A third case of the mystery flu-like illness that has spread from Asia to North America has been reported in New Jersey. State officials said that a 36-year-old south New Jersey woman is hospitalized in stable condition with a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Officials said that the woman's symptoms arose after she returned from a trip to Asia.

She went to a hospital in Pennsylvania March 31 after she experienced coughing, muscle soreness and other symptoms associated with SARS.

Tests to determine if she has SARS were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization has recommended that all but essential travel to Hong Kong and parts of mainland China be postponed.

There are 148 suspected cases of SARS being investigated in the United States.

More than 100 people around the world have died from it.

Here is some more information about SARS:
Symptoms
* A fever of about 101 degrees, coughing and shortness of breath.
* Other possible symptoms include headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, confusion, rash and diarrhea.
* Death is caused by respiratory failure.

Transmission
* SARS appears to spread through close contact, such as between family members or between patient and doctor. Most of the recent 150 cases have been in health care workers.
* Experts believe SARS is spread through coughing, sneezing and other contact with nasal fluids.
* SARS appears three to seven days after exposure.

Cause
* Researchers don't know whether SARS is caused by bacteria or a virus.
* The illness does not respond well to standard antibiotics, suggesting that a virus, not bacteria, is the cause. The disease could be a new form of influenza.
* Health officials in Hong Kong believe at least six patients are responsible for spreading the disease.
* Doctors in Frankfurt, Germany, say a Singapore doctor, his pregnant wife and possibly the woman's mother have contracted a highly infectious form of pneumonia after the doctor treated two patients with SARS. Frankfurt doctors say they've found a flulike virus in the patients' blood that could be causing the illness.

Treatment
* Those suspected of having SARS are being quarantined. The best treatment is unclear because different medicines, both antibiotic and antiviral, have been used in different hospitals.
* Doctors don't know why some victims die and others recover. It could be because of the many drugs they are being given, or just the normal course of the disease.

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