One of the five people in Hawaii suspected of having a mysterious flulike disease spreading from Southeast Asia had something else, and most potential cases being reported are quickly eliminated as possible suspects, a state health official said. Suspected isle viral case
Surgical masks in short supply
turns out not to be SARSBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comDr. James Marzolf, staff physician with the Health Department's Disease Outbreak Control Division, said three or four cases are being reported daily with possible symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Most are quickly eliminated after investigation because they do not meet the World Health Organization's criteria for the infection, he said.
"We feel very reassured that we don't have a danger situation in Hawaii," said Dr. Linda Rosen, deputy director for health resources administration.
Marzolf and Rosen were among state and federal officials briefing legislators yesterday on the outbreak.
They said one of the five persons listed here so far as suspect SARS patients had a bacterial illness. The other four had mild symptoms and completely recovered, unlike the severe cases reported in China, Vietnam and Singapore, they said.
Three were on Kauai and one on Oahu. No one close to them during the 10-day incubation period has shown any symptoms, Marzolf said.
The Health Department contacts 45 medical facilities statewide every day to check on respiratory illnesses. All cases with possible SARS symptoms are investigated, and people who were close to the patient are tracked, Marzolf said.
The CDC reported 100 suspected SARS cases from 28 states as of Wednesday, mostly adults who had traveled to countries with the disease within 10 days of symptoms appearing.
A total of 2,223 suspected or probable cases of the disease have been reported to the World Health Organization from 16 countries, including the United States, with 78 deaths.
No deaths have been reported in this country, Marzolf said, explaining the United States is casting a wide net to catch people with suspected SARS before they become seriously ill.
The symptoms are the same as those with influenza and other viruses but more severe, Rosen said. The disease is spread by close contact between an infected person and people exposed to cough droplets or contaminated objects.
The illness can be prevented with normal precautions, such as washing hands with soap and water, health officials stressed.
"We don't all need to don masks and run around," Marzolf said.
The WHO has recommended postponing all but essential travel to Hong Kong, China, Hanoi and Singapore, and the Health Department has received a number of calls from people concerned about canceling travel plans, Rosen said.
"It has to be an individual choice," she said, adding that she feels the risk of traveling to China is very low if people follow the CDC's safety guidelines and go to parts of the country with less exposure.
Health officials do not advocate routine use of surgical masks on airplanes or the streets. But when traveling in the high-risk countries, Rosen said, "A mask in an elevator wouldn't be a bad idea."
Robert Hansmeier, a State Department of Transportation operations manager at Honolulu Airport, said U.S. Public Health quarantine officials are meeting 14 flights daily from Japan and one from Korea. Most flights from Asia come through Japan, he said.
The U.S. and state health departments will be notified if any flight from Asia reports a passenger with SARS symptoms, and they will alert CDC, he said. The airplane will be isolated and quarantined until health officials arrive, he said.
Upon arrival, all passengers from Asia receive a health alert notice about SARS asking them to see a physician if they develop a fever with a cough or breathing difficulties within 10 days, he said.
Rosen said she would not want to discourage people from traveling here from Asia. "I don't believe they currently pose a danger to our population."
She said chances are very good that anyone with SARS symptoms will be intercepted.
Far East arrivals have dropped to 2,800 a day from about 4,000 because of SARS, the Iraq war, economic and other reasons, Hansmeier said.
Health specialists believe a new type of coronavirus may be the cause of SARS, but that is still to be confirmed and there is no test or specific treatment for the disease.
Associated Press
Medical supply outlets in Hawaii are receiving calls for masks by people traveling to Asia. Passengers wearing surgical masks arrived at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok international airport yesterday.
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Local medical supply companies are reporting a run on surgical and physician's masks, in some cases wiping out their entire stock, due to fears of a deadly flulike disease that originated in Southeast Asia. Frantic run shorts isle
supply of surgical masksBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com"Yesterday was one of the busiest days we've had," said Erika Melendez, customer service representative at Physician Sales & Service.
"The whole day was spent trying to fill orders. We've sold everything in stock. Calls come in like crazy."
People in cities like Hong Kong, where 17 have died, have taken to donning masks to protect themselves from severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The disease has killed 78, and 2,223 suspected or probable cases have been reported in 16 countries.
"A lot of people are scared," said Roxanne Aguinaldo, client care coordinator at Ace Medical Inc. "People are worried when they take trips to Asia."
She said some individuals were buying four boxes of 50 masks at a time.
Pilots, flight attendants, travelers to Asia and restaurants have been buying masks from Pacific Gloves and Service, said clerk Renee Pruett.
Jeff Weinstein, general manager of supplier R. Weinstein, said, "We've been getting 90 calls a day."
His company, which supplies physicians, does not advertise in the Yellow Pages, but customers found it anyway. "Doctors were telling them to call here if they were traveling," he said.
The company sold out early last week on the first day they began receiving a heavy volume of calls for the mask of choice: the 3M Health Care N95 particulate respirator and surgical mask.
Local distributors say customers request the product by name, which is advertised by 3M as meeting the CDC guideline for TB exposure control.
The physician's masks run from $13 to $30 for a box of 50, while the surgical masks cost from $21 to $50 for a box of 20.
Some companies have a limited supply of physician's masks, which are not of surgical grade, while others are sold out.
C.R. Newton is expecting a shipment today of physician's masks, but most distributors say both types of masks are back-ordered, and do not know if or when they will receive them.
"We had to stop selling it (the N95) because we have to keep it for the hospitals," said Jocelyn Lewis, purchasing agent for Dauterman Medical.
When she tried to place an order for more surgical masks two weeks ago, she was told there were not any available.
Dewey Monterichard, general manager of Pacific Gloves & Service, said his company's suppliers told him production cannot keep up with the demand.
"I foresee the demand outstripping the production for some time until this subsides."