Media Release

March 31, 2003

Media Contacts:

Rosann Doran
Public Information Officer
303.438.6308

Karen Beye
Broomfield HHS Director
720.887.2269

Broomfield business travelers may wish to take health precautions: HHS

Broomfield’s Public Health Division of the Health and Human Services Department is advising area businesses about SARS (severe acute respiratory disease syndrome), the flu-like disease that has been reported overseas, and is now confirmed in the United States.

Businesses whose employees regularly travel overseas may wish to take health precautions, according to John Pickle, Broomfield public health officer.

Pickle joins national health experts who caution persons traveling to destinations outside the United States to be alert to the exposure of SARS. Travelers are asked to monitor their health for at least 7 days after returning to the United States, preferably not returning to work.

Businesses and residents should be aware of any illnesses resulting from travel to foreign destinations, Pickle said. The Center for Disease Control has indicated that SARS has entered the United States through airports.

The Rocky Mountain News recently reported that several health care workers from Colorado came down with symptoms of the disease after returning from a trip to China. One woman from Broomfield is recovering in Boulder Community Hospital from a suspected case of SARS, although it is not confirmed. Pickle has said that the woman’s improving health is an indicator that it probably is not SARS. Hospital officials have indicated that the patient has requested that no information be released related to this case.

Physicians, hospitals, laboratories, emergency medical services units, local health departments and county public health nursing services throughout Colorado have been alerted to watch for persons who recently traveled to Southeast Asia and are suffering from severe flu-like symptoms.

Anyone who becomes ill with a fever accompanied by a cough or difficulty in breathing should consult a physician. To help physicians make a diagnosis, patients should relate that they have recently traveled outside the United States or may have had contact with someone who has had these symptoms. Physicians are instructed to contact the city, county or state health officer and the CDC Emergency Operations Center to report the atypical pneumonia or SARS.

The federal government issued a warning after a few cases were reported in Canada. The disease has been reported in the United States after persons traveled or came into contact with others who traveled outside the United States.