April 2, 2003

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

Johns Hopkins recommends that plans for international travel in the immediate future be considered very carefully. Given both the current level of international tension and the emerging situation involving severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), we also recommend that such travel be undertaken only if absolutely necessary.

There are many very useful and informative Internet resources that can help you make decisions about the advisability of travel at this time. Perhaps the first to consult is the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs site at http://travel.state.gov/

This site includes the State Department's latest advice on international
travel generally, and on the situations in various specific nations or
regions of the world. It also has links to important information that every
international traveler should be aware of, including how to be prepared for a crisis overseas and how to get help from the U.S. government in the event of an emergency.

Anyone planning to travel to China, Hong Kong or Southeast Asia should pay especially careful attention to the latest information on SARS,
and reconsider travel until the apparent epidemic is under control.
Information about SARS is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r030329.htm
and http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/

More general CDC information about international travel is
at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/

It is imperative that our international students, faculty, and staff
contact their campus or divisional international students and scholars
office before undertaking any international travel. As a reminder, the
Homewood office has a web site at http://www.jhu.edu/~isss/ and the office serving the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions has a site at
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/intlsvcs/ SAIS, Peabody and SPSBE also have offices serving their international students, faculty and staff.

Anyone who decides that travel is essential at this time should be sure to
leave a detailed itinerary and contact information with the appropriate departmental office, adviser or other relevant colleague.

Sincerely,
William R. Brody