Worldwide alert in new Sars scare

A wide international net was cast against a new Sars threat today as it was revealed that an infected Taiwanese military scientist had not gone into strict home quarantine after becoming sick and that two of his colleagues had travelled to the United States.

A search has also started for for five foreigners who travelled on the same plane as the infected man – a medical researcher – more than a week ago.

So far, at least 90 people in Taiwan and Singapore have been quarantined, though none have developed Sars symptoms.

The developments raise disturbing questions about decisions made by the 44-year-old patient who officials say probably caught Sars while mishandling virus samples in his Taipei lab.

Officials allege he was not wearing safety gear, such as a gown and gloves.

Although the researcher suspected that he might have been exposed to the highly contagious virus from a spilled test tube, he flew to Singapore on December 7 to attend a conference, officials said.

Singapore has quarantined 70 people who had contact with the man, identified only by his rank and surname, Lt Col Chan – who has been isolated in Hoping Hospital in Taipei.

In China, authorities have ordered all researchers to hand in Sars samples as a precaution against similar lab accidents.

In Taiwan, 20 people are under quarantine. These include the man’s family, people at a medical clinic he visited after getting sick and some passengers on a plane he had taken from Singapore.

Officials are looking for three Americans, one Japanese and a Singaporean who also flew with the scientist when he returned to Taipei from Singapore on December 10.

When the patient tested positive for Sars on Wednesday, officials said he had quarantined himself at home since developing a fever on the night of his return. Officials have said the man was asymptomatic during his travels and probably did not infect anyone.

But yesterday, Shih Wen-yi, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Centre for Disease Control, told a news conference that the man did not confine himself to his home.

Shih said that the scientist spent the night at his work dormitory on December 10. The next day, his wife drove the researcher – who wore a surgical mask – to a suburban Taipei medical clinic, he said.

After his check-up, the scientist went back home and waited five days before he went to a hospital, Shih said. This was a violation of guidelines that require Sars researchers to seek immediate hospital care, he said.

“Maybe our awareness campaign was not enough,” said Shih, who declined to discuss possible disciplinary action against Chan.

The clinic’s receptionist and doctor have been quarantined along with five people related to the clinic’s staff, Shih said.

The CDC official also said that two colleagues who went to Singapore with the researcher travelled to the United States on December 10.

The colleagues, who worked for the Ministry of Defence, have been ordered to return to Taiwan, said Shih, who would not say where the men were in America. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention were monitoring the men, who have shown no SARS symptoms, he said.