China announces second suspected SARS case

A waitress in hospital in China’s southern city of Guangzhou was today declared the country’s second suspected SARS case of the season.

The one-sentence government announcement gave no other details. But earlier reports said the 20-year-old woman worked in a restaurant in Guangzhou which served wild game.

The woman, whose name was not released, went to a hospital on December 31 with a fever, according to the reports. She was isolated after tests showed possible inflammation in her lungs.

Earlier today, the government announced that China’s first SARS patient of the season had been discharged from hospital after recovering.

The 32-year-old television producer, identified only by the surname Luo, was admitted to hospital in the southern city of Guangzhou on December 20.

Chinese and international experts spent weeks testing samples before declaring that he was confirmed to have severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Meanwhile, three members of a Hong Kong TV news team are being tested for SARS after returning from China’s southern mainland to cover the case of the television producer, officials said today.

The three men, employees of the TVB network, were placed in an isolation ward after they sought treatment at Queen Mary Hospital on Wednesday and are in a stable condition, health officials said.

They are being tested for SARS and flu viruses, said Dr Regina Ching, acting deputy health director, adding that results were expected later today.