By Linda Taaffe

Los Altos teachers returning to school from spring break this week received health notices advising them what to do should students become exposed to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a recently discovered respiratory illness that has been reported worldwide since February.

These are the first guidelines federal officials have issued to school administrators regarding SARS.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 10 issued the SARS guidelines following reports that the respiratory virus may have spread for the first time in a workplace in the United States.

Teresa Chagoya, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, said officials sent the federal recommendations to the county’s department of education Friday, and the department would notify every private and public school within its jurisdiction.

There have been no reported SARS cases in county schools. The recommendations are a precaution, Chagoya said. Should an individual with SARS inadvertently go to school, officials will have the appropriate steps in place to manage the situation.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, Centers for Disease Control director, said she was “very concerned” about the possible spread of the disease after a suspected SARS patient who had become ill after traveling to Asia may have infected a co-worker in Gainesville, Fla.

Until the report, SARS had appeared to spread only to family members or health workers who had close contact with an infected person.

“It’s far too early to indicate whether any of these individuals actually has SARS,” she said in a press release last week.

Officials from the World Health Organization said SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4¡F. Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.

SARS appears to spread through close person-to-person contact, including touching the skin of other people or objects that are contaminated with infectious droplets and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

It also is possible that SARS can be spread more broadly through the air or by other ways that are currently not known, officials said.

Under the CDC recommendations, students who have been exposed to SARS and who do not have a fever, cough, sneezing or other respiratory symptoms should be allowed to attend school, but should be vigilant for onset of symptoms.

Students who develop fever or respiratory symptoms in the 10 days following exposure to a SARS case should seek medical attention and be isolated.

The guidelines say that an individual with symptoms that do not progress within 72 hours of onset of the initial symptoms can return to school.

As of April 17, about 199 suspected cases of SARS had been reported in the United States. Only China and Hong Kong reported more suspected cases. Singapore followed with the second most reported suspected cases with 167.

California has reported the most suspected cases in the United States with 42, including five in Santa Clara County, according statistics from the World Health Organization.