Illness not yet a threat in US

An airliner briefly halted on a West Coast tarmac Tuesday was the most dramatic sign yet that a mysterious illness that has killed more than 60 people worldwide is provoking worry in the United States.\nNobody in the United States has died from the illness, severe acute respiratory syndrome, called SARS. But about 70 cases have been reported in the country, out of some 1,800 worldwide.\nHealth officials here are not considering quarantines so far because the disease is not spreading as rapidly as in Asia and the related outbreak in Toronto.\nIn Hong Kong, for example, some 240 residents of an apartment complex where SARS has spread were taken away to quarantine camps on Tuesday. But such measures don't yet appear warranted in the United States, said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.\n"We are in the business of protecting the public health of all citizens," Thompson said Tuesday in Atlanta. "If there is a virus that is explosive ... and the only way to control it is by quarantine, we have to consider it. But we're not there yet."\nHealth officials say there's no sign that SARS is spreading freely throughout any American community. The disease, which originated in Asia, seems to be confined mostly to international travelers, to health care workers who have taken care of SARS patients, and to those in close contact with SARS patients.\nThey also say the SARS germ, not yet firmly identified, appears to spread mostly from droplets spewed out through coughing or sneezing. But it's possible it might also spread more broadly by airborne transmission, or by lurking on surfaces like doorknobs that other people later touch, experts said.\nShort of quarantine, authorities around the country have taken other steps.\nIn San Jose, Calif., an American Airlines flight from Tokyo was held on the tarmac after five people on board complained of SARS-like symptoms. The disease causes a fever, sometimes with chills, headache and body aches, and can lead to a cough and shortness of breath.\nIt was not immediately clear when the people became ill. A spokeswoman for the local health department said it appeared four of the affected people had transferred from Hong Kong to Tokyo. The World Health Organization has urged that international passengers boarding in Hong Kong be screened for possible SARS and asked to delay their travel if they appear to have symptoms.