CDC Tells Colleges Not to Turn Away Commencement Visitors From SARS-Affected Regions

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now advising universities not to discourage the loved ones of students from countries that have been heavily affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome from attending their graduation ceremonies. Instead, the CDC, on its Web site, is suggesting that institutions simply ensure that visitors from such areas have been told to monitor their health for a 10-day period after travel.

Last week, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Rochester, and Washington University in St. Louis all advised their students not to invite visitors from SARS-affected countries (The Chronicle, May 8). The University of California at Berkeley not only discouraged commencement visitors but also barred incoming students from SARS-affected regions from enrolling in summer programs. The institution subsequently revised its policy to allow some of those students to enroll (The Chronicle, May 12).

At the University of Rochester, Robert Kraus, associate vice president for public relations, said the CDC recommendation would be hard to put into effect because the institution's commencement ceremonies start on Friday. He said that 55 students and their loved ones would potentially be affected by the institution's policy, out of 250 international students who are to graduate. "I honestly can't say if anything will change," Mr. Kraus said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently lists SARS travel advisories for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. For Singapore and two cities -- Hanoi, Vietnam, and Toronto -- less-serious travel alerts are issued. A travel alert does not advise against travel to and from the area, whereas an advisory does.

In a news release, the CDC states that it does not "recommend quarantining persons arriving from areas with SARS who have no fever or respiratory symptoms." If those symptoms develop, however, the release suggests:

Excluding the ill person from activities.

Alerting appropriate health-care personnel.

Notifying state or local health officials if SARS is suspected.

Although she once supported Berkeley's hard-line approach because of the unusually large number of students coming to the United States from SARS-affected regions, Julie Louise Gerberding, the CDC's director, is now adopting a new approach. "The United States has always been and will continue to be a country that opens its doors to visitors from around the world," Dr. Gerberding said in the CDC news release. "With appropriate public health measures, we can continue the kind of openness that characterizes our society despite this outbreak."