SARS returns to haunt China

THE Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus returned to haunt China for the first time in six months as a suspected case in southern Guangdong province was upgraded to a confirmed case by senior health officials.

“The case has been confirmed,” Feng Shaoming, spokesman for the Guangdong Centre for Disease Control, said. “Our experts at the CDC have made many tests and they are all positive.”

SARS triggered a worldwide health crisis after emerging in Guangdong in November last year, causing 774 deaths and more than 8,000 infections, the majority in Asia.

Feng said three experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) were in Guangdong’s provincial capital of Guangzhou Tuesday and were going over the test results.

He acknowledged that the case could not be officially upgraded to a confirmed case until the Ministry of Health made a formal announcement.

“So far the Ministry of Health has not announced it, nor has the WHO . I don’t know when they will, it is up to them, but our experts here have confirmed it.”

In its daily SARS report yesterday, the ministry said no new suspected, clinically confirmed or confirmed cases of SARS had been reported from 10am Monday to 10am Tuesday.

“According to reports from across the country at present there is only one suspected case of SARS and no clinically confirmed or confirmed cases,” the ministry said.

Wang Maowu, director of disease control at the national-level Chinese Centre for Disease Control, told AFP an official statement was likely to be issued Wednesday.

Roy Wadia, WHO’s Beijing-based spokesman said that the WHO was trying to contact their ministry counterparts.

“We are trying to get confirmation with the Ministry of Health,” Wadia said. “So far we have no official word ourselves.”