Recovered SARS patient communicates with media in written statement

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 09, 2004

Recovered SARS patient communicates with media in written statement

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Deliberately avoiding the public spotlight, a statement written by the first diagnosed SARS patient on the Chinese mainland since last July was read out to reporters Thursday afternoon in this capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

The freelance TV worker, surnamed Luo, wrote in the statement that his experiences proved the disease was "not to be feared," and Chinese hospitals could effectively treat the disease of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Luo, 32, was discharged from hospital Thursday after meeting the three standards set for a recovered SARS patient in China: disappearance of shadows on the lungs, loss of accompanying symptoms and no fever for over a week.

While commenting on his recovery from the disease, Luo said "the whole incident should come to an end and my identity and other personal details are not important any more".

The TV documentary producer also thanked all the medical workers who treated him and the media.

In a mobile phone message sent to Xinhua earlier Thursday, Luo said he had left hospital but was reluctant to meet the Press.

"I've left the hospital," Luo wrote at 1:45 p.m., but he said he just wanted to return to his normal life.

About 30 reporters from domestic and overseas media gathered at the gate of the Guangzhou No.8 People's Hospital, where Luo was treated, hoping to catch a glimpse of him being discharged.

Luo had complained of headaches, fever and a cough on Dec. 16 and was admitted to an isolation room at the No.1 Hospital of the Zhongshan University on Dec. 20. He was transferred to the No.8 People's Hospital on Dec. 24, where he maintained a normal temperature.

Luo was confirmed as a SARS patient on Jan. 5, but his condition improved daily with conventional treatment, including antibiotics and support treatment to prevent complications, at the No. 8 People's Hospital.

"It was quite a shock to realize that I might have contracted SARS, when I was sent to the isolation ward," Luo said during a previous interview with Xinhua.

All 81 people Luo had had contact with, including 42 close contacts, did not show any symptom of the disease, and the last was discharged from isolation Thursday, after a two-week quarantine. Meanwhile, a restaurant waitress was confirmed Thursday the mainland's second suspected SARS case since July in Guangzhou, local health authorities said.

The 20-year-old waitress is in quarantine and receiving treatment in the No.8 People's Hospital. The lady from central China's Henan Province reported symptoms of fever on Dec. 26 last year. She had no connections with Mr. Luo.

Source: Xinhua

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