No Definitive Cause of SARS Identified: WHO

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 31, 2003

No Definitive Cause of SARS Identified: WHO

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Possible causative agents of the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have been identified but there is no definitive answer yet, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said Monday in Manila.

Two possible causative agents, Paramyxovirus and Coronavirus, have been identified, Dr. Hitoshi Oshitani, coordinator of the SARS Preparedness Team of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific Region, told a press briefing here.

"But we still don't have any definitive answer yet," he said, adding that an international multicenter research project to expedite identification of the causative agent was established on March 17.

Eleven top laboratories around the world are consulting daily and are working together to identified the causative agent of SARS,whose main symptoms are high fever, dry cough, shortness of breathor breathing difficulties, the WHO regional office said.

Dr. Oshitani said that SARS appears to be less infectious than influenza and the incubation period is short, but the speed of international travel creates a risk that cases can rapidly spread around the world.

WHO has already advised airlines to bar passengers with symptoms of SARS or who may have been exposed to it, which may be associated with other symptoms including headache, muscular stiffness and loss of appetite.

Latest WHO data show that as of March 30, a total of 1550 casesof SARS and 54 deaths have been reported from 15 countries and regions.

WHO infectious disease specialist Dr. Carlo Urbani, the first WHO official to identify the outbreak of this new disease and treat the earliest cases in Hanoi, died of SARS in Thailand on Sunday, accounting for the additional death.

WHO, through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, isworking with its partners to track the global dimensions of this outbreak and coordinate efforts to quickly identify the causative agent, improve diagnostic precision, and provide advice on recommended treatment, the regional office said.

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