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Suspected SARS passengers released
SAN JOSE, California (CNN) -- Three people evaluated for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) after arriving on a flight from Tokyo Tuesday do not have the disease, and have been released, according to hospital officials. All passengers and crew were asked to remain onboard American Airlines Flight 128 from Japan after it landed because several passengers reportedly showed symptoms of the cold-like illness that has killed dozens of people around the world. Three passengers were taken to the Valley Medical Center, where Dr. Tad Hurst said the two women, ages 70 and 50, and a 74-year-old man did not appear very ill. Two other passengers with coughs were examined on the aircraft by Dr. Karen Smith of the Santa Clara Department of Public Health and determined not to be at risk for SARS. Everyone else on the plane was allowed to go home or transfer to other flights, a spokesman for American Airlines said Tuesday. He said none of the 14 crew members on the plane had reported SARS symptoms. He said all those reporting symptoms had been among six people sitting in the first class section. All those on the plane are to watch for cold or respiratory problems and take their temperatures regularly. They have been told to go to their own doctors immediately if they show symptoms of SARS, said health department spokeswoman Joy Alexiou. American Airlines said the plane will be cleaned according to standards set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and returned to service. The pilot of the plane had asked all 125 passengers and 14 crew members to stay on the plane after it arrived at San Jose International Airport, because several of them reported symptoms similar to the disease, according to an airline spokesman and the health department. Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman for the California State Health Department, said the incident was not a quarantine, rather it was voluntary for all onboard. Santa Clara County has seven other suspected SARS cases, but only one person is hospitalized. The other people were isolated at their homes for 10 days, Smith said, adding there is no laboratory test to confirm the illness. The "mystery illness" with cold-like symptoms has sickened some 1,800 people worldwide, and is blamed for the deaths of at least 62, most of those in Hong Kong and mainland China. Canadian health officials Tuesday announced two more people have died from the ailment, bringing the death toll in that country to six. What and howResearchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said Tuesday they are 90 percent certain that a new species of "coronavirus" is responsible for SARS. The main symptoms of SARS are high fever (greater than 38 Celsius or 100.4 Fahrenheit), combined with a dry cough, shortness of breath, or breathing difficulties. Chest X-rays indicate changes compatible with pneumonia. Other possible symptoms include headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, malaise, confusion, rash and diarrhea. Experts believe SARS spreads through close contact with an infected person, such as between family members or between patient and doctor. The incubation period -- the length of time between exposure and symptoms emerging -- is estimated to range from two to seven days. CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin contributed to this report.
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