SARS traced to edible 'cats'

The fight against SARS in Hong Kong took two big steps forward today as the World Health Organisation lifted a travel warning and local researchers said they found the virus in civet cats that appear to have spread it to humans.

Civet cats are a delicacy eaten by some Chinese, and University of Hong Kong researchers said that while fully cooked civet meat was probably safe, people could have been infected as they handled the animals while raising, slaughtering or cooking them.

“Looking at the genetic information, it is highly likely that the virus has been jumping from the civets to humans,” said Dr Yuen Kwok-yung, adding that the cats should be handled and sold under careful monitoring to avoid further outbreaks.

The researchers had previously said SARS came from animals but they had not been sure which kind. They said they could not rule out the possibility that the cats had been infected by other animals, or vice versa, as the disease spread.

The infected civet cats – which are not true cats but short-haired mammals with long bodies, short legs, and tails that resemble small racoons or weasels - appeared healthy. The virus showed some genetic changes when it jumped to humans, but researchers were not immediately certain how significant the changes were.

“If you cannot control further jumping of such viruses from animals to humans, the same epidemic can occur again,” he said. “So it’s very important that we have ways of controlling the rearing, the slaughtering and the selling of these wild game animals so that such an epidemic will not occur again.”

Hong Kong had been lobbying for removal of the Who travel advisory, which has devastated local airlines, hotels and other businesses.

The UN health organisation said it lifted the travel advisories for Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong because the outbreaks there were under control.

“Guangdong was the first place in the world to have cases of SARS but I am pleased to note that due to the efforts of the local and national health authorities, with support from WHO, the outbreaks in Guangdong and Hong Kong are being contained,” Who Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland said in Geneva.

Health officials reported two more SARS deaths in the former British colony today, pushing the toll to 260, and two new cases, bringing the total to 1,724. Hong Kong’s new cases have now been in the single digits for 20 consecutive days.