SARS strikes again in Taiwan From correspondents in Taipei December 17, 2003
A MEDICAL researcher in a Taiwan has tested positive for SARS.
The patient was a 44-year-old man who had been studying SARS at the National Defense University, according to a news release issued by Taiwan's Center for Disease Control.
"Right now, he's the only one who's been infected," Health Minister Chen Chien-jen said at a news conference.
The researcher attended a conference in Singapore on Dec. 7 and developed a fever on Dec. 10 after returning to Taiwan, CDC officials said.
It is the first since the World Health Organisation removed Taiwan from its list of SARS-infected areas on July 5.
TVBS cable news reported earlier that a medical researcher at a military hospital had developed common SARS symptoms: a fever and signs of pneumonia.
He thought he only had the flu, but on Tuesday went to a Taipei hospital where an X-ray showed he had pneumonia. He was then tested for SARS, and the results were positive, the statement said.
Singapore reported a similar case last September when a Singaporean lab worker caught SARS while researching the illness.
TVBS identified the researcher by his surname, Yang.
TVBS showed footage of him being transported to Hoping Hospital in a special ambulance with medical workers dressed in protective gowns.
During the SARS outbreak earlier this year, Taiwan ranked third highest in the world behind China and Hong Kong for SARS deaths and cases.
The virus began spreading quickly in Taiwan last April when ill-prepared hospitals failed to manage infected patients adequately.
When the virus was contained in July, the island had recorded 346 SARS cases and 37 deaths.
Meanwhile medical experts ruled out a SARS resurgence in Beijing, saying an upper respiratory tract infection was responsible for an outbreak of fever hitting schools in China's capital.
"The upper respiratory tract infection is peaking in Beijing due to the drastic falling temperatures, but no students have been hospitalized because of the infection," He Xiong, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Diseases Prevention and Control Centre, said, Xinhua news agency reported.
About 40 primary and middle schools have reported mass fevers since the start of the winter, but Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has been ruled out in all cases after testing.
"The number of infections is less than in the previous years thanks to increasing awareness of disease control after the SARS outbreak in spring," He said.
He urged school staff and parents to be alert for SARS symptoms, such as fever, coughing and sore throats.
The Chinese mainland has reported no clinically confirmed or suspected SARS cases since August 16, when the last patient was discharged from hospital, although fears remain that it will return.
Medical experts around the world have warned the deadly virus may be seasonal, putting China on alert against a resurgence and intensifying efforts to find a vaccine.
The Chinese Government has said it hopes to learn a lesson from the outbreak which began a year ago in Guangdong province in the south and was largely fuelled by attempts to cover-up cases and a lack of transparency by hospitals and local governments.
Some 193 people died in Beijing from more than 2520 infections.
(Good chance there will be others, the man has most likely infected other people)
AFT Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
(20min delay)