The World Health Organization (WHO) said in Beijing Monday that
China is still a safe place to travel even though the suspected
case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong was
finally confirmed as diagnosed one.
"It is perfectly safe for members of the public to travel to
Guangdong Province," WHO representative in China Henk Bekedam said
at a press conference Monday evening.
"One SARS case in China is not an immediate public-health threat
and there was no evidence of a spread of infection from the SARS
patient to date," Bekedam said.
China's Ministry of Health confirmed Monday the first diagnosed
SARS case in a report after the samples from the patient was
jointly examined by the laboratories under the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Guangdong CDC and the
results reviewed and confirmed by two WHO reference laboratories
abroad.
The patient, a 32-year-old TV producer, was "in a stable
condition with no abnormal symptoms" after continuous medical
treatment, according to the ministry.
The ministry said prompt epidemiological investigations and
preventative measures had been taken by the Guangdong health
authorities after the patient was diagnosed as a suspected SARS
case on Dec. 27. The 42 close contact and 39 people with loose
contact of the patient were quarantined under medical observation,
of whom 25 close contact and all with loose contact were removed
from isolation so far.
"Local health authorities in Guangdong Province, together with
the Ministry of Health and the Chinese CDC, have treated the SARS
case very well," said Bekedam.
"The healthcare agencies in Guangdong utilized the disease
surveillance system established following the outbreak in the
earlier half of 2003, including tracing, isolation and medical
observation of contact," he said.
The health authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong have worked
together to implement safety measures in the area, in terms of
travel, temperature checking and other steps in the wake of the
SARS case in Guangzhou, he added.
As for the slaughter of civet cats which were suspected to carry
the SARS virus, Bekedam said the WHO welcomes the decision by the
Chinese authorities to try and minimize contact between humans and
the animals thought to be carrying the SARS virus.
He repeatedly called for more research to identify which animals
are capable of carrying and supporting the SARS virus and under
which circumstances the virus to transmit from animals to
humans.
"Proper process should also be stressed to ensure that slaughter
won't add risk to the spread of the virus," he said.
Guangdong announced a ban on the breeding and sale of civet cats
on Monday, and all civet cats being raised and sold in Guangdong
would be destroyed, wildlife markets closed and the entry of civet
cats from elsewhere in the country banned to prevent any possible
spread of SARS.
It is estimated that some 10,000 such animals will be
killed.
Experts from the University of Hong Kong had found large
quantities of the SARS-like coronavirus from civet cats and other
wildlife collected from the markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen
cities.
Further research found that the S-gene sequence of the
coronavirus from civet cats and that of the recently-detected SARS
suspect in Guangdong were "highly homological" and were from "the
same phylogenetic tree."
(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2004)