Mystery bug hits European countries

SUSPECTED cases of a mystery bug that has spread across three continents have been reported in four European countries while there are confirmed ones in a further two.

The condition of a 64-year-old British man, admitted to a Manchester hospital suffering from similar symptoms of an illness that has already killed nine people, is said to be improving.

Doctors used a combination of antibiotics and oxygen to stabilise the man, who took ill after returning from Hong Kong, where 90 of the near 200 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have been reported.