World Health Organization (WHO) experts said in Guangzhou
Tuesday that the 35-year-old suspected SARS patient was in "very
good condition" and was likely to be discharged from hospital
soon.
The joint mission of the WHO and the Chinese Health Ministry,
who are investigating possible sources of SARS infection from
animals, humans and the environment in Guangdong, visited the two
SARS suspects Tuesday at the No. 8 People's Hospital in the
province's capital city Guangzhou.
WHO experts said they had talks with the two patients for over
an hour and both of them "looked very well".
WHO epidemiologist Robert Breiman, who talked with the
35-year-old suspected SARS patient identified on Monday, said the
patient seemed likely to be able to leave the hospital soon. "We
asked him many questions and he answered them all clearly."
But Breiman said two preconditions should be met before the
patient could be discharged. "He should have a normal temperature
for at least seven days and the shadow on his lung should
completely disappear."
Visits to the two suspect SARS patients were originally not
included in the joint mission's agenda in Guangdong. "When we
arrived here on Jan. 8, we didn't know about the two suspect cases,
so we plan to extend our stay here to Jan. 16 to complete extra
investigations," said Roy Wadia, the WHO Guangdong team
spokesman.
Jeffrey Gilbert, a WHO expert in diseases transmitted by
animals, told Xinhua that his team has already got
relevant information on the two suspected SARS cases from the
Health Ministry and the Guangdong provincial health bureau.
"We believe the face-to-face communication with the two patients
would help us better understand their situation and make a
diagnosis," Gilbert said.
After talking with the patients, the experts went to the second
suspected SARS patient's rented house and collected samples from
the walls, floors and desks in the house.
The rented house of the 20-year-old waitress who was identified
as a suspect SARS patient was located along a narrow alleyway in
Guangzhou's urban district. Local people said houses in that area
were not well maintained and mostly used as warehouses.
Meanwhile, WHO China office spokesman Bob Dietz said in Beijing
that two laboratories in Hong Kong have been contacted and both are
prepared to conduct further tests on samples from both
suspects.
"The Chinese Ministry of Health requested samples from both
suspected cases be referred to the international SARS laboratory
reference network for further analysis," said Dietz. "When the
tests are completed, the WHO will be informed directly of the
results."
The joint mission of the WHO and the Health Ministry have
visited the apartment of the first confirmed SARS case, the
restaurant the 20-year-old waitress worked at and the biggest
wildlife market, collecting samples from environment and
animals.
The WHO experts said the samples have been sent to the
laboratories under the Guangdong provincial center for disease
control and prevention for testing and analysis.
On Tuesday, the Chinese Health Ministry reported no new SARS
case on the Chinese mainland during the past 24 hours from 10 a.m.
Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday. The one diagnosed SARS case and two
suspect cases reported so far in this year were all from Guangdong,
said the ministry.
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(China Daily January 14, 2004)
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