Stanislaus County- Stanislaus County Public Health Officials have identified a case of a SARS-like illness in Stanislaus County. SARS is a respiratory illness that originated in Asia. This is the first suspected case in Stanislaus County.

Public Health officials and officials from a local school district will hold a press briefing at 4:00 p.m. today in the Martin Conference Room at the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency located at 830 Scenic Drive in Modesto.

The case involves a six-year old child whose father recently traveled to the People’s Republic of China and returned with a respiratory illness. The father sought medical treatment after two weeks of illness, but was never clinically diagnosed with SARS. The child has since developed a fever and respiratory illness.

“Because the father was never officially diagnosed, CDC criteria will not allow any case resulting from his illness to be technically called a SARS case,” stated Dr. John Walker, Public Health Officer for Stanislaus County. “This is a gray area. But, with the combination of factors including his travel history in the Guangdong province of China, his medical symptoms and with the child manifesting such strong respiratory symptoms and fever, we calling the child’s case a SARS-like case that demands our immediate attention.”

The Public Health Department is working closely with a local school district in coordinating a response to the illness. Information has been sent home to families and health officials are working closely with school district staff in the response.

“We are continuing to rely on the local medical community to take the lead and help us catch any possible cases as early as possible,” Dr. Walker said. “Local physicians and hospitals are our first line of defense and their leadership is vital.”

Prior to any identified cases, Public Health officials began educating the Stanislaus County medical community about SARS. Health alerts and clinical guidelines were issued to increase awareness of SARS among physicians and hospital medical staff, enhance the community’s ability to respond to any patient experiencing symptoms, and guide the reporting of any suspected cases to county health officials.

The PH Department has been working with all five (5) local hospitals, local physicians, the medical society, community groups and schools to distribute accurate information on the SARS disease

“The public needs to be reassured that only a very small number of people are at risk,” expressed John Walker, M.D., public health officer for Stanislaus County. “The primary people at risk are those who have recently traveled to mainland China, Hanoi, Vietnam, Hong Kong or Singapore.”

Public health staff have prepared question and answer sheets that have been distributed to schools and CDC information is regularly shared with the medical community as part of public health preparations.

Fact sheet on SARS is attached.

The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (HSA) is an outpatient medical system with 10 medical offices located throughout Stanislaus County. The HSA operates the Public Health Department, an Urgent Care Center and multiple programs serving over 500,000 patients and clients each year in Stanislaus County. The HSA has extensive community health information available at its web site www.hsahealth.org