4TH LD: Suspected SARS case found in China's Guangdong Prov

Asian Economic News, Dec 29, 2003

BEIJING, Dec. 27 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDS DETAILS, FIXING LAST PARA)

A man in southern China's Guangdong Province is suspected of having SARS, China's first case in months, and the case has been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

The suspected SARS case is the first found on mainland China since the last two SARS patients were discharged from hospital Aug. 16 in Beijing, and the second worldwide this winter, following the case of a man in Taiwan earlier this month.

A Health Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying the 32-year-old freelance TV station worker in the provincial capital Guangzhou was confirmed as a suspected SARS case Friday by the ministry and a panel of medical specialists of the province.

He has been kept in quarantine since Wednesday, four days after he visited a hospital complaining of fever and headache and was initially diagnosed as suffering pneumonia in his right lower lung.

The man, who lives in Panyu district of Guangzhou, began to have a fever and headache on the evening of Dec. 16.

The report quoted a doctor as saying the patient's temperature has been normal over the last three days and he is in stable condition, though he will continue receiving treatment in quarantine.

Wang Zhiqiong, deputy head of the provincial health department, said the department is investigating the patient's claim that during the past month he has stayed in Guangzhou and eaten no wild animals.

The patient's residence has been sterilized to counteract possible infection, and people who have had close contact with him have been quarantined, though they have shown no symptoms of SARS such as fever.

Xinhua reported that the Guangdong provincial government has informed the governments of neighboring Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions about the case.

On Saturday, Hong Kong's Health Department announced precautionary measures in light of a suspected case in Guangdong Province, which the territory was informed about Friday night.

The measures include maintaining mandatory health declarations and temperature-screening checks for passengers arriving from Guangdong Province, stepping up broadcasts to remind the public to remain vigilant and observe good personal hygiene, and distributing health alert cards to passengers arriving by plane from Guangdong at the airport and other boundary checkpoints.

The department has also set up a SARS hot line to facilitate inquiries from people returning from or leaving for Guangdong Province.

Hospitals in Hong Kong have announced a ''yellow alert,'' which means it is believed that the suspected SARS case might affect Hong Kong to certain extent and hospital representatives will hold meetings to discuss precautionary measures that might be taken in hospitals, Xinhua said.

Up until the mainland's last two SARS patients were discharged in August, the mainland reported a total of 5,327 SARS cases, including 349 deaths. The outbreak hit Hong Kong from March to June, sickening 1,755 people and killing 299.

No suspected SARS cases had been found in Guangdong Province since May 23 when the WHO lifted its SARS-related advisory against travel to the province, where the first SARS case was found in the city of Foshan in November 2002.

On Dec. 17, Taiwan reported a senior researcher was tested positive for SARS. The patient is believed to have contracted the virus in an incident in a laboratory. In September, a lab worker in Singapore also contracted the virus. The WHO calls these isolated cases.