Australia Reports First Case of Killer Pneumonia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Australia Reports First Case of Killer Pneumonia

Australia officially reported on Tuesday its first suspected case of a virulent pneumonia which has killed about 60 people worldwide.

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Australia officially reported on Tuesday its first suspected case of a virulent pneumonia which has killed about 60 people worldwide.

The country's chief medical officer, Dr Richard Smallwood, said Australia had notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the case, a man who was admitted to a Sydney hospital and has recovered from the disease.

The man's symptoms fitted WHO criteria for severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), he said.

'We still cannot be sure this person had Sars, but in the absence of other diagnosis, we thought it would be prudent to alert the WHO to this unusual case,' he said.

'The man had travelled back to Australia on Feb 12 after spending two days in Singapore and presented to a hospital in Sydney on Feb 23 with fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing,' Dr Smallwood said in a statement.

'The person recovered after two weeks and was well when released from hospital,' he said.

'There was no spread of Sars from this patient to his contacts.'

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old Panamanian has been hospitalised with suspected Sars, health officials in Panama said on Monday.

The man, who worked at a service station on the Panama Canal, has been in hospital since last Thursday.

Source: Agencies

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