State issues SARS alert for 4 counties
'Probable' victim visited Shippensburg
By EMILY PHELPS
Staff writer
A Canadian woman with a probable case of SARS sought treatment at a Shippensburg clinic last week, prompting the state to issue a health alert Thursday to doctors in Franklin, Adams, Cumberland and Dauphin counties.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is asking health care workers in those counties to consider whether for anyone who sought medical attention since May 16 could have had symptoms of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
The unidentified woman, now hospitalized in Canada and classified as a probable SARS case under World Health Organization guidelines, went to a doctor's office in Shippensburg on May 19, according to the Health Department.
There is no evidence that the woman infected anyone during her visit to south central Pennsylvania, state health officials emphasized. The alert is a precautionary measure only, they said.
Bruce Hockersmith, mayor of Shippensburg, said he was alerted to the situation Thursday by Tom Moriarty, Shippensburg regional emergency management coordinator.
"Right now we just have to wait and see if it develops," Hockersmith said. "We certainly urge people not to panic or do anything like that."
Local health officials also urged calm.
"I'm not more worried than I was before," said Dr. Dave Carlson, vice president of medical affairs for Summit Health, which operates Chambersburg and Waynesboro hospitals.
There are no known SARS cases in the community, he said.
Because the Canadian woman was showing signs of the virus, it is likely that she was not especially infectious, the department said.
Officials also noted that the incubation period of 10 days has almost passed without detection of any unexplained illness consistent with the pneumonia-like disease.
Worldwide, SARS has killed at least 753 people since it emerged in November and has infected more than 8,200 people, mostly in mainland China and Hong Kong.
The Canadian woman who sought treatment in Shippensburg probably was exposed unknowingly to the SARS virus before leaving Canada, according to the health alert. She was in Shippensburg from May 16 to May 20.
Richard McGarvey, Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesperson, declined to name the clinic where the person saw a doctor, citing confidentiality concerns. He said the clinic has been notified.
Generally, SARS symptoms emerge between two and 10 days after exposure.
That window has passed, McGarvey said, without any cases being reported.
At the moment, the state Department of Health is looking to see whether the visitor may have attended any events or places in the area.
The person's visit was after Shippensburg University's graduation on May 10, and she left before the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) high school track and field championships that began May 23.
She traveled to and from Canada by private car, according to the alert.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is working with Health Canada to determine the patient's specific itinerary.
"It's a little unclear still," McGarvey said.
The information received so far is preliminary, according to the alert.
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