SARS Relapses Puzzle Experts

Just as SARS is leveling off in some areas, there are reports from Hong Kong of relapses among a dozen people.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains Friday that some in Hong Kong had checked out of the hospital because it seemed they had recovered, but several days later a few came down with SARS-like symptoms again.

Hospital authority in Hong Kong said Thursday six of the 12 seem to have recovered, but the other six are still in the hospital, listed in good condition. Doctors are concerned because they don't know whether the patients seemed to be better, but still had the virus in their systems or whether they caught it a second time. Experts also don't know if it's the same strain or a mutation of the original.

The Center of Disease Control, the World Health Organization and other agencies are pushing hard to develop a diagnostic test to detect the presence of the disease. Right now, doctors cannot tell whether patients still have the virus in their bodies when they leave the hospital.

Doctors at the World Health Organizations reported patients treated with steroids and ribavirin, an anti-viral drug, seemed to improve.

It is possible that those that had relapses in Hong Kong were still sick with SARS because steroids given to some patients, as part of their treatment, could have suppressed the symptoms. However, Dr. Senay says, there is a lot we don't know.

Currently, there is no vaccine to help fight SARS. Experts do know the virus' genetic structure, which will help in the battle of the disease. But SARS is still a new disease and experts still have many questions about it.

Scientists theorized SARS may have been transmitted from animals, but experts don't know for certain. And they don't know which species may have originally been contaminated.

There will be no quick fix to cure the disease, says Dr. Senay. It will take time to start winning the battle against SARS.