Lab Tests Rule Out SARS in 2 Ventura County Cases
Tests show that two Ventura County residents suspected of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome were not infected by the virus, county health officials said this week.
Last month, a man in his 40s was hospitalized after complaining of the flu-like symptoms associated with the disease, said Marilyn Billimek, a county public health nurse. The man had recently returned from a trip to Singapore, one of the Asian countries where the disease first appeared.
The man’s illness came to light less than a week after county officials announced that a woman in her 60s was suspected of having SARS.
Laboratory tests have ruled out SARS in both cases, Billimek said. Both patients, whose identities were not revealed, are now doing fine, she said.
No other suspected cases have been reported in Ventura County.
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