RALEIGH, N.C. — Another suspected case of severe acute respiratory syndrome has been identified in North Carolina.

The case brings North Carolina's total suspect cases to seven, all considered to be mild cases. Four of the suspected cases are in Wake County (but not linked to one another), and there is one each in Orange, Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.

The announcement came from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, a result of recent changes to the case definition for suspected SARS by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state's newest suspect case is a Wake County woman who developed fever and respiratory symptoms after traveling in Toronto. That area was added over the holiday weekend by the CDC to the list of areas with documented or suspected community transmission of SARS.

The woman's illness was already known to the public health staff, and she had already been counseled about infection control precautions. Until the definition changed, she was considered a "special-interest" case because of her symptoms but was not counted as a suspect SARS case because she had not traveled to mainland China, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Vietnam or Singapore.

The case brings North Carolina's total suspect cases to seven, all considered to be mild cases. Four of the suspected cases are in Wake County (but not linked to one another), and there is one each in Orange, Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.

All of the individuals are either fully recovered or expected to do so. Their names, ages and addresses cannot be released because of patient confidentiality.