WHO not to issue SARS alert for single case in China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 06, 2004

WHO not to issue SARS alert for single case in China

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The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday in Geneva that it will not issue Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) alert for the moment after confirmation of the first SARS case in south China.

The single isolated case does not constitute grounds for issuing a SARS alert or recommending any restrictions on travel or trade, the Geneva-based organization said.

At the request of China, additional WHO teams are being sent this week to assist in research aimed at identifying the source of infection and preventing further cases, the WHO added.

China's Ministry of Health on Monday confirmed the first diagnosed SARS case, in south China's Guangdong Province, since the outbreak of the disease last spring.

The ministry said that the patient, a 32-year-old TV producer, was "in a stable condition with no abnormal symptoms" after continuous medical treatment.

It also said that prompt epidemiological investigations and preventative measures had been taken by the Guangdong health authorities after the patient was diagnosed as a suspected SARS case on Dec. 27.

The first case of SARS occurred in Guangdong in mid-November 2002. The disease began to spread internationally in late February2003, eventually causing more than 8,000 cases, with 774 deaths.

Source of new confirmed SARS case remains unclear

Though results from laboratory tests received Monday have confirmed the SARS case in southern China, the source of infection for the case remains unclear, WHO said.

Epidemiological investigations in China have not yet been able to link the patient to exposure to wild animals or any other known or suspected source of the virus, the WHO said.

Several lines of investigation last year suggest that SARS may have originated from contact with wild animals sold for human consumption at live markets in southern China.

Studies conducted last year detected a SARS-like virus in some animal species, including the masked palm civet.

Retrospective analysis of patient records has linked several of the earliest cases, which surfaced in Guangdong in mid-November 2002, to contact with wild animals.

However, no animal reservoir of the SARS coronavirus has been conclusively identified to date, the WHO said.

By People's Daily Online

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