SARS raises troubling questions for health officials

Federal health officials are increasingly concerned about the mysterious virus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome circling the globe. D.A. Henderson, special adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, said in an interview Friday with GovExec.com, "I can tell you we're worried."

As of April 17, there were 3,398 reported cases of SARS in 25 countries, with 165 deaths attributed to the virus. China, where the virus is believed to have originated, and Hong Kong have been hardest hit.

"The question is, is this virus getting ready to break loose or are we on top of it?" Henderson said. The bottom line: Nobody really knows. While there are positive signs that suggest health authorities are gaining control of the virus's spread, much about the virus's behavior remains unknown, and what is known is puzzling.

Among the things scientists are trying to understand is why so few children have become ill. Those people who contract the virus have almost all become very ill, with about 5 percent succumbing to the disease, a much higher death rate than the most virulent strains of influenza. While the virus has spread rapidly in some communities, it has not spread nearly as rapidly on airplanes, as scientists would expect.

Respiratory diseases tend to be most common in winter, Henderson said. For that reason, health officials are eager to see how SARS evolves in Australia and South Africa over the coming months as winter begins in the southern hemisphere.

On the positive side, public health officials across the United States have been cooperating to an unprecedented degree in tracking and managing the disease here, Henderson said.

Henderson recalled a quote from Nobel laureate Dr. Joshua Lederberg, who noted that man's only competition for dominion of the globe are viruses, and the outcome is not foreordained.