This news is not very comforting:

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, has prompted officials in Asian countries to enforce little-used quarantine laws, close schools and impose new health screenings on travelers. Closer to home, health experts suspect a second case of SARS has been identified in Collin County.

The first case was diagnosed about 12 days ago, and the other came to the health department’s attention on Friday. In the first case, the infected man recently traveled to Hong Kong, and is believed to have brought SARS home. The second case is a mystery.

“We know that there is no known link with the first man,” said county spokesperson Leigh Hornsby.

There is little danger to the public, because both infected men are quarantined in their own homes.

“These persons are in their homes, they’re wearing masks, they’re not venturing out into the public,” Hornsby said. “If there’s any type of venturing out, it’s to see their physician. Their family members who don’t live within the household aren’t even visiting them. So there are so many precautions that are being taken at this point.”

Later on, the article points out that it is now believed that the virus can live for several hours on surfaces (like doorknobs and elevator buttons).  That’s just great—now I’m going to be paranoid about touching anything.

I also find it interesting that they haven’t found any link between the two people who are infected.  It makes me wonder if there isn’t someone else out there who doesn’t know he or she has it and is spreading it around.  It’s a little worrysome, because Collin County adjoins Denton County on the east, and many people who live in Collin County work in Dallas and the surrounding areas.