ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan is canceling or postponing selected overseas educational programs until at least May 15 in countries at high risk for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and is urging faculty, students and staff to leave the affected countries.

University Health Service information The University International Travel Oversight Committee Experts who can comment on SARS The message was issued today (Friday) by Paul N. Courant, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and Lazar J. Greenfield, interim executive vice president for medical affairs and interim CEO of U-M Health System, in consultation with the University’s medical and public health experts. Courant said, “The threat posed by SARS is serious, and we need to be thoughtful and vigilant in taking steps to protect our campus community. On a campus as large and cosmopolitan as the U-M, it is vital that we be prudent and prepared. “I recognize that the measures outlined above may disrupt the plans of individuals and groups on campus. However, given that our knowledge about SARS is still incomplete, these steps are fully warranted,” Courant said. The warning applies to travel and programs in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Toronto, Canada. The Asian countries are those identified as “travel advisory areas” by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while Toronto, Canada has experienced an outbreak of SARS that led to the introduction of strong public health measures there. Program cancellations will be in effect up to May 15 and will be reevaluated regularly in light of progress of the disease. Decisions regarding cancellations or postponements will continue to take into account travel advisories issued by the CDC. The following additional measures are being undertaken: · University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) Emergency Department and inpatient facilities have implemented CDC recommendations for identifying individuals at risk for SARS to prevent a person who is ill from infecting others and to protect health care personnel. · The University Health Service, which provides out-patient health care services for the University community, has implemented its protocol for identifying high-risk individuals and appropriately isolating them during evaluation. · Contingency plans are in place for treating SARS patients and their contacts on the campus. Planning is being coordinated among the University Health Service, the U-M Health System and the Washtenaw County Health Department. · A University committee has been convened of faculty experts in public health and infectious diseases, and administrators responsible for academic and student services, to track SARS developments continuously, recommend strategies and keep the campus informed. The risk factors for SARS infection are recent travel to a high risk area or exposure to a person ill with SARS. Early symptoms may include muscle aches and malaise. The clinical findings of SARS include fever over 100.5 degrees, cough and shortness of breath, low oxygen in the blood, and changes on X-ray. Information about the symptoms of SARS can be found at the Web sites of the World Health Organization http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/ and the national Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/. The University Health Service offers information about SARS at http://www.uhs.umich.edu/uhs/whatsup/sars.html. The University International Travel Oversight Committee offers information at http://www.umich.edu/~itoc/. Letter to the University community from Provost Paul Courant NOTE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined Thursday that the symptoms of a patient hospitalized at the University of Michigan did not meet the case definition for SARS, and therefore the case will not be reported as a suspected SARS case. Reports in the news media on April 2 and 3 reported the suspected case prior to the CDC determination.

Related Links

http://www.umich.edu/news/Releases/2003/Apr03/sars.html

http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/

http://www.uhs.umich.edu/uhs/whatsup/sars.html

http://www.umich.edu/~itoc/