If you're ill, it's more likely a cold.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

You've got the fever, chills and aches that are familiar to flu sufferers - but do you have SARS, the international mystery illness that's infected more than 2,300 worldwide and claimed at least 84 lives?

Probably not, given that so far only one suspicious case has been reported in Oregon, and that one may not prove to be Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. But to make sure, your doctor is as likely to ask about your recent vacation as about your symptoms.

The reason: You don't meet the official definition of SARS unless you've traveled to a country where the virus is known to have been transmitted - currently mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam - within 10 days of the onset of symptoms.

You might also be suspect if you've had close contact with someone who's traveled to a SARS area and come down with SARS-like symptoms. The federal Centers for Disease Control define "close contact" as having cared for, lived with or come in direct contact with a sufferer's sneezing and coughing.

The disease was first reported among people in Guangdong province in southern China, as well as Hong Kong and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It has since been diagnosed in 18 countries plus Hong Kong.

But no one has died in the United States, and of the first 115 cases reported in this country, nearly all involved travelers who recently returned from an affected area, CDC Director Julie Gerberding said. Five acquired the virus from others in their households, and two were health care workers, Gerberding said.

The disease's initial symptoms are a fever of over 100.4 degrees and a cough or other respiratory ailment. As Sacred Heart Medical Center spokesman Brian Terrett observes, "That represents about two-thirds of the sick people in the Willamette Valley right now."

Locally, the Lane County Public Health office is responding to several inquiries a day, said Martha deBroekert, public health nurse and epidemiologist. A couple of people have been evaluated for SARS, but diagnosed with other illnesses, she said.

She advises people with concerns to see their doctor, check the CDC and World Health Organization Web sites and put off any travel plans to China or other affected areas. The CDC has also recommended curtailing nonessential travel to such areas.

The first line of defense for people who think they could have SARS is to rule out other, more common bugs, said Ann Thomas, medical epidemiologist with the Oregon Health Division.

People can get throat and nose swabs, and certain antibody tests, to see if what really ails them is influenza, strep throat or another treatable illness.

No cure yet exists for SARS, which is caused by a virus that scientists have yet to positively identify. But they say they're about 90 percent sure the illness comes from a new form of coronavirus - a virus that causes about one in every five colds.

Coronaviruses, so named because of their halo or crown-like appearance when viewed under a microscope, aren't part of the flu virus family. SARS is described as a type of "atypical pneumonia" because most pneumonias attack the lungs early and hard rather than first produce milder, upper-respiratory symptoms such as fever and headache.

While no test yet exists for SARS, the CDC and other laboratories have developed two research tests that appear to detect antibodies to the new virus. It's not known when those tests can be made available to clinics and hospitals.

The state and county health departments, area hospitals and clinics all say they're keeping close tabs on the situation. "We're just trying to ask the right questions, stay on alert, understand what we're looking for," said Susan Kline, infection control coordinator at Sacred Heart.

Paul Cieslak, manager of communicable disease programs at the state health division, said new infections emerge with some regularity - think Legionnaires' disease, Lyme disease, West Nile virus - and can be the result of viral mutations. But changes in lifestyles also play a big role.

Legionnaire's disease in the 1970s was caused by a bacterium that flourished in aerosolized water - the kind put out by air conditioners that didn't exist 50 years earlier. The hantavirus has struck people mostly living in high desert country, where mice feces more easily mix with the dust breathed by humans.

When he worked at the CDC, Cieslak said researchers discovered an increase in strains of salmonella, which ultimately were tied to an increase in imported reptiles. It was a time, he said, "when everyone wanted a pet iguana."

Cieslak said the SARS virus is a genuine concern. But for another perspective, he said, consider that "every year more than 20,000 people die of influenza, which is a preventable illness."

SARS

What: A respiratory illness first reported in Asia that's since spread to North America and Europe. Cause unknown, but new strain of coronavirus suspected. No known cure.

Symptoms: Usually begin with fever, sometimes associated with chills, headache, body aches, general discomfort. Dry cough can develop after two to seven days. In severe cases, extreme breathing problems. Incubation period typically two to seven days, but can be as long as 10 days.

Travel factor: In addition to physical symptoms, most or all SARS sufferers have recently traveled to China or other affected countries, or been in close contact with others who have.

Transmission: SARS appears to be spread through droplets - someone coughs or sneezes droplets into the air and someone else breathes them in. It may also spread through the air generally or from contaminated objects.

Advice: If you suspect SARS, consult doctor immediately. Cover mouth and nose with tissue when coughing or sneezing. Wear surgical mask during close contact with others. No proven treatment regimen, but certain antibiotics, antiviral medicines and steroids have been used.

More information: Centers for Disease Control Web site at www.cdc.gov or Oregon Health Division Web site at www.dhs.state.or.us/publichealth/adc/sars/index.cfm.

- Centers for Disease Control