CDC Alters Definition of SARS, Reducing Cases
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Health officials said a change in the definition of SARS has reduced the number of U.S. cases of the illness by half. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its case definition of severe acute respiratory syndrome to exclude people whose lab tests turned up negative for the virus 21 days after the onset of symptoms. It said the number of suspect or probable SARS cases in the United States now totals 211, down from 418 on July 15.
