The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - The urge to adopt a child persuades some couples to defy the threat of a deadly new virus.

No country has seen more cases or deaths than China, where severe acute respiratory syndrome is believed to have originated. Overpopulated China also is a prime source of infants and toddlers for adoption.

Aware of the SARS danger, some couples press ahead on a process that can take up to two years and cost nearly $20,000, said Cory Barron, spokesman for Children's Hope International.

The St. Louis-based agency specializes in foreign adoptions and has offices and clients nationwide.

The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend postponing non-essential travel to China and other places where SARS has spread.

Three couples adopting Chinese babies through Family Adoption Consultants in Macedonia, Ohio, took surgical masks to help protect against the virus, said Karen Ristow, who handles Asian adoptions.

Americans have adopted nearly 15,000 children from China in the past three years, according to the State Department, more than from any other country. Every adoption involves a two-week stay in China to pick up the child and to complete paperwork for China and for the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou.

Ohio has had six suspected SARS cases. One was a baby adopted in China in February. The 11-month-old girl became ill shortly after arriving in Toledo and infected an 8-month-old. Both recovered.