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Mysterious SARS Illness Arrives in California

Passengers traveling from Asia were kept on their plane at the San Jose Airport today after reports of possible cases of SARS on board. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a mysterious ailment with no known treatment, has killed 60 people worldwide and infected some 1600 others. American Airlines Flight 128 called ahead to report five possible cases of the virus. When the plane landed, it taxied to a remote part of the airport where Santa Clara County health officials went on board. Two passengers were medically cleared immediately, but three others were given masks and taken to a local hospital where they are still being examined. That brings to 10 the possible SARS cases in Santa Clara County. We speak with a reporter about SARS around the world and in the Southland, get a full report from the director of LA County Health Services, and hear what the syndrome has done to tourism from a travel agent who specializes in trips to Asia. Reporter's Notebook: Fleeing War in Central America, Dying in US War Marine Lance Corporal Jos- Gutierrez was a Guatemalan orphan who trekked 2,000 miles to Los Angeles, and survived LA-s juvenile court system, only to die last week in Iraq. Much has been made of his remarkable odyssey and its tragic end. Writer-director Roberto Lovato, whose parents came from El Salvador, says Central Americans find in Iraq the haunting echoes of wars past. (On Wednesday, April 2, the Orange County Register reported that USMC Corporal Jos- Garibay of Costa Mesa and Lance Corporal Jos- Gutierrez of Lomita will both be granted US citizenship posthumously.)