Plane quarantined at San Jose airport SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) =97 An American Airlines flight from Tokyo was=20 quarantined on the tarmac at San Jose's airport Tuesday after five people=20 on board complained of symptoms like those of the mysterious new illness=20 spreading through Asia, health officials said. Two passengers and two crew= =20 members, plus a fifth unidentified person, complained of symptoms similar=20 to those found in severe acute respiratory syndrome =97 which has afflicted= =20 hundreds in Hong Kong and killed at least 64 people worldwide. It was not= =20 immediately clear when the people became ill, only that they reported to=20 the crew during the flight that they "think they may have SARS," said Joy=20 Alexiou, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Health=20 Department. Alexiou added that "we're pretty sure four of the five=20 transferred from Hong Kong to Tokyo." Flight 128 from Tokyo to Mineta San Jose International Airport stopped on=20 the tarmac short of the gate midmorning Tuesday, and ambulances lined up=20 near the plane as the 125 passengers and 14 crew members waited on board=20 after the nine-hour flight. American Airlines notified the airport that=20 help was needed after "the captain was informed of a passenger needing=20 medical assistance," said Todd Burke, a spokesman for the airline. More=20 than 1,600 cases of the illness have been reported so far worldwide,=20 including 69 cases in the United States. None of the U.S. cases were=20 fatal. Last week, evidence surfaced that SARS can be caught on airplanes.= =20 Hong Kong authorities said several tourists on a China Air flight caught=20 the disease after flying with another SARS-infected passenger. Singapore Airlines said an attendant was sickened after traveling on a=20 recent flight that carried an SARS-stricken doctor, and officials in=20 Connecticut said a suspected case there involved a college student who had= =20 gone overseas on spring break. The World Health Organization urged=20 airlines to question passengers at check-in and refusing to board those who= =20 might have the illness. Alexiou said the passengers and crew members on=20 the American flight who feel sick would be transported to a hospital for=20 chest X-rays and to have their travel history checked before they are=20 classified as suspected cases of SARS. "This thing seems to spread a=20 little easier than first anticipated, so we want to take every precaution,"= =20 Alexiou said. Others on the plane will be given medical advice and allowed= =20 to depart =97 but told to immediately contact a doctor if they develop any= =20 symptoms, she said. Also Tuesday, Syracuse University announced it had cut short its=20 semester-long study-abroad program in Hong Kong and called the students=20 back home because of worries over the illness. Fifteen of the program's 31= =20 students are enrolled at Syracuse, the rest at other schools. Authorities=20 in Massachusetts said a baby girl adopted in China was identified Tuesday=20 as the third suspected case there. SARS usually begins with a fever of=20 more than 100.4 Fahrenheit, sometimes with chills and headache and body=20 aches. After two to seven days, patients may develop a cough. Other=20 symptoms can include shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing and=20 pneumonia. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention=20 recommends postponing non-essential trips to mainland China, Hong Kong,=20 Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam. While some SARS cases have been reported in=20 Canada, there's no sign of widespread community spread, so CDC isn't=20 advising against travel to or from there. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week:http://www.ttsailing.org/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************