Osmetech: Star Trek technology today. The real McCoy

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - The government will step up the monitoring of
travellers from the adjacent mainland region of Guangdong following the
discovery of a suspected SARS case in the southern province, health authorities
said.
Chinese health authorities said Saturday that a patient suspected of
suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is being treated in the
provincial capital Guangzhou.
Hong Kong's director of health Dr P.Y. Lam said the territory's health
authorities had been informed of the suspected case Friday evening.
Monitoring of travellers from Guangdong -- where the disease is believed to
have originated over a year ago -- will be increased, he said.
"We will deploy staff to check people travelling from Guangdong on a random
basis," Lam told a briefing.
He said this would be on top of current measures, which include thermal
imaging of travellers to check their temperatures and requiring them to fill in
health declarations.
Hospital Authority senior executive manager of professional services Liu
Shao Haei said the authority is concerned about the suspected case and has
issued a "yellow alert" to staff.
Lam said he has been informed by Guangdong health authorities that the
patient, a freelance television station worker, is not believed to have
travelled recently to Hong Kong or elsewhere in China.
According to the information from Guangdong there was no known risk factor
making the patient more likely to have come in contact with SARS, he added.
A preliminary test for SARS antibodies during the early stages of the
illness has not been able to confirm the presence of the potentially deadly
virus and further tests are being carried out.
"It is not conclusive," he said.
The patient, identified only as Luo by the Guangzhou daily Nanfang Dushi
Bao, was hospitalised on December 20.
Lam said Hong Kong authorities have been told the patient had typical SARS
symptoms, including a respiratory tract infection and fever.
He urged Hong Kong residents to be vigilent against the disease by ensuring
personal and environmental hygiene.
Hong Kong was the second worst hit region after mainland China in the global
SARS outbreak earlier this year, with 299 patients dying out of a total of 1,800
infections.
Worldwide, nearly 800 succumbed to the SARS outbreak, which peaked in March
and April before waning by the middle of the year.
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