The 19-year-old Pretoria student who was suspected of having Severe Acute Respiratorary Syndrome (Sars) was in a stable condition in the Pretoria Academic Hospital on Sunday.
Hospital superintendent Ingrid Weber said the student was in isolation but was not on a ventilator. The woman was under clinical observation and only preliminary tests had been done.
Weber said the woman was only a suspected case and not a probable case.
The difference being that ”suspected cases” develop a high fever, experience breathing difficulty and have travelled or lived in a Sars affected area.
A patient is regarded as a probable Sars case when all the mentioned symptoms occurred as well as when radiographic evidence has been found of pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome.
The student has recently returned from a holiday in China. She was admitted to the hospital on Friday, after having developed symptoms earlier in the week.
Weber said the woman’s progress would be closely monitored. – Sapa