You Are In: USINFO > Products >Washfile

13 January 2004

U.S. Bans Civet Imports to Prevent SARS Spread

Suspected that SARS virus may have jumped from civets to humans

U.S. Secretary of Health Tommy G. Thompson has announced a ban on the import of civets, a small animal native to Asia that is suspected of transmitting SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) to humans.

Though the link between the animal and disease is not proven, the January 13 announcement says the decision is intended to prevent transmission and spread of the flu-like illness, which is fatal in about 10 percent of cases. One theory public health officials in China are investigating is that the virus, unknown in the human population before last year, leapt from animals to humans through consumption, or through handling of the cat-sized creatures. The meat is considered a delicacy to the Asian palate, and U.S. officials are concerned about the import of the animals as an exotic food.

SARS, highly contagious in some cases, started in China in late 2002 and began to spread in 2003 as travelers carried the disease to other countries. By the time the global outbreak ended in July, SARS had appeared in 29 countries. More than 8,400 people took ill with the flu-like disease; almost one thousand died.

SARS is caused by a coronavirus, similar to those pathogens that cause cold and flu. Scientists suspected that SARS might behave like those diseases and reappear when cold weather returned to the northern hemisphere. So far two suspected or proven SARS cases have appeared in China this season.

Further information on SARS is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/

The World Health Organization maintains global information on the disease and that information is available at http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/index.html

Following is the text of the announcement:

(begin text)

Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
January 13, 2004

HHS BANS CIVET IMPORTS, ACTION INTENDED TO PREVENT SPREAD OF SARS

As part of the national plan to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced an immediate embargo on importation of civets to the United States. The small animals have been identified as a possible link to SARS transmission in China.

"Public health experts are concerned that civets may transmit SARS to humans, who may then pass it on to other people," Secretary Thompson said. "This embargo will help us protect the American public and prevent introduction of SARS in the United States."

The embargo, which applies to dead and live civets as well as civet products, will remain in place until further notice. Civet products that have been processed to render them noninfectious, such as fully taxidermied animals and finished trophies, are not included in the embargo. The ban does not apply to those who received permission from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to import civet cats for educational or scientific purposes.

Public health officials are concerned about the possibility that the coronavirus that causes SARS was originally transmitted from animals to humans, sparking the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia. Growing indirect evidence suggests exposure to certain wild animals may increase risk of infection. However, there is no evidence that humans were infected with the SARS coronavirus from direct contact with certain wild animals. Based on the limited data available, the most appropriate action at this time is that the movement of civets should be restricted and contact with them should be minimized.

SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003 and spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In the United States, there were a total of 192 probable and suspect cases of SARS. Only eight were laboratory confirmed as SARS coronavirus and all of the patients recovered.

SARS is a viral respiratory illness that causes high fever and a number of other symptoms including headache, body aches and respiratory symptoms. SARS is fatal in about 10 percent of cases.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)