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FIRST US CASE????

ALBUQUERQUE

New Mexico, U.S.A.

March 18, 2003

New Mexico's deputy state epidemiologist says it's "likely" that a patient at Albuquerque's Presbyterian Hospital has Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
The syndrome, called SARS, is a deadly mystery illness suspected to be a severe form of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia. It has spread to more than 300 patients in Asia, Europe and Canada.

Ron Voorhees, the deputy state epidemiologist, said the Presbyterian patient traveled to Hong Kong before coming down with symptoms.

"My feeling is this is fairly likely (to be a case of SARS) because the patient was in one of those areas," Voorhees said.

"We've sent samples to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and we're trying to bring in people to look into it as quickly as we can."

No test to detect infection exists for SARS because the syndrome is very new. The only way to confirm it at this point is to rule out other possible diseases, Voorhees said.

The patient is in "fair" condition and in respiratory isolation. All other information about the patient, including his identify, is confidential, said Ed Benge, vice president of medical staff affairs at Presbyterian.
Health officials are conferring with the CDC to decide whether to release the patient's flight