A possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) — which has killed more than 100 people worldwide — has been identified in Pretoria, the Gauteng health department and Network Healthcare Holdings (Netcare) said on Monday night.
The 62-year-old Pretoria businessman was in a critical but stable condition in the Pretoria East Hospital, said Dr Richard Friedland, chief operating officer of the hospital operator Netcare.
The potentially lethal virus, also described as atypical pneumonia, has infected thousands of people across the globe.
The man returned to South Africa on March 27 from a business trip to Hong Kong. He took ill on Monday, and went to the Pretoria East Hospital casualty centre.
He had flu-like symptoms, a high fever and shortness of breath. His symptoms were immediately recognised as being similar to those of Sars.
Friedland said five family members of the man were being regularly examined for signs of the disease. They had no symptoms at the moment. The family members were not allowed any contact with the man.
Should the test results turn out positive, it might become necessary to alert other people who flew on the same plane as the man, as well as others who were in contact with him.
However, it was unlikely that he would have infected anyone at that stage, as one only became infective after developing symptoms of the disease.
No confirmed cases of Sars have been reported in Africa.
The disease, also described as atypical pneumonia, has infected more than 2 500 people in 30 countries. About 100 people have died.
It originated in China in November, and has since spread through the world by air travellers.
The Gauteng health department said on Monday it was satisfied that all possible safety and precaution measures had been taken in this case. – Sapa