California Cases Not Connected to Epidemic

Eight cases of unexplained respiratory distress syndrome reported last week by the California Department of Health Services are apparently not connected to the outbreak of a similar flu-like illness in Arizona and New Mexico, state authorities said Monday.

Blood samples from the first three patients tested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were found not to contain antibodies to hantavirus, the rodent-carried virus federal health officials believe to be the cause of the Four Corners illness, now officially known as URDS.

State epidemiologists believe it is unlikely that any of the eight California cases, which are spread throughout the state, will be linked to the epidemic in the Four Corners area of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.

Although health officials have received reports of suspected URDS cases from throughout the country, CDC spokesman Robert Howard said there is “absolutely no evidence” linking any of those cases to the epidemic.

Health authorities in New Mexico said Monday that there have been no new cases reported in the region for a week, leaving the number of confirmed cases at 26 and the number of deaths at 16. All but one of the cases have been linked to the Four Corners area and two-thirds of the cases have been among American Indians, primarily Navajos.

The fact that the California cases are not linked to the Four Corners illness was not surprising, experts said, because as many as 150,000 cases of adult respiratory distress syndrome occur each year in the United States. There are dozens of potential causes, including infection, multiple fractures and other trauma, inhalation of smoke and other toxic substances, and shock from many causes.

The cause of many cases is never determined, and the number of such unexplained cases is unknown because physicians are not required to report them to public health authorities.

URDS is characterized by fever, muscle aches and either cough, headache or conjunctivitis (reddening of the eyes). In the later stages, fluids accumulate in the lungs, suffocating the victim.