The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that it’s looking into online reports alleging cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, surfacing in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The CDC says that because these reports are coinciding with Taiwan’s presidential elections and the Lunar New Year holiday, which is expected to increase travel volume between Taiwan and China, it is investigating the matter thoroughly.
CDC officials say they have already reached out to their Chinese counterparts and are gathering as much information as they can.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo says that the Chinese CDC has yet to issue a response. However, Lo says that local health authorities in Wuhan have reported 27 cases of viral pneumonia.
“Of the 27 cases of viral pneumonia, seven of them are more severe. The rest are not that bad. Two people have already been released from the hospital. As far as symptoms go, we’re mostly seeing fevers. Some people have trouble breathing and some X-rays show lung infection. All of these cases were treated under quarantine. Right now, there have been no reports of person-to-person infection. This is a very important observation because SARS is highly contagious. From what we’re seeing right now, we can ease our worries about this disease being SARS just a little bit,” Lo said.
Lo says that current information indicates that these occurrences are not SARS infections. However, Lo says that the CDC will remain vigilant.