China braced itself yesterday for a return of the deadly pneumonia-like Sars virus after genetic tests on a suspected patient in the southern city of Guangdong showed a ”high correlation” with the virus’s gene sequencing, according to government-controlled media.
China’s health ministry said more tests were needed before the 32-year-old male television producer could be confirmed as having severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which has been liaising with the Chinese authorities since the man started showing symptoms last month, said it would not comment until after an official government statement.
With memories still fresh of last year’s initial outbreak, which killed 774 people around the world, infected more than 8 000, devastated economies and crippled the travel industry for months, the news led broadcasts around the region.
A senior official in the Guangdong provincial centre for disease prevention, Xu Ruiheng, quoted by the Xinhua news agency, said: ”The WHO is the one to make the final decision on whether to confirm it as Sars.”
Roy Wadia, a Beijing-based WHO spokesperson, said: ”We need our own official confirmation from the ministry of health.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday the WHO said tests had so far proved inconclusive.
The patient had displayed symptoms that could fit the profile of Sars, but they could also be caused by many other infectious diseases.
The Hong Kong health department said the results of tests on samples from the patient’s throat had been reported to the WHO.
Chinese media reported yesterday that the restrictions on the last of scores of people quarantined after it was feared they had come into contact with the patient were about to be lifted after none had shown symptoms during a 14-day observation period.
While the WHO insists an outbreak on the scale of last year is unlikely as most nations in the region have introduced stringent detection and preventative measures, particularly at air and seaports, even a minor outbreak could cause panic. – Guardian Unlimited Â