WHO team searches for SARS sources

cctv.com 01-12-2004 10:03

Members of the World Health Organization have visited a restaurant Monday in Guangzhou where China's second suspected SARS case worked as a waitress. But the team has yet to discover how the patient might have been exposed to the virus.

Doctors from the WHO scoured the apartment building of China's only confirmed SARS case. They were looking for clues as to how the 32-year-old television producer caught the disease. The man was hospitalized on December 20th and released on Thursday following his recovery.

But, another suspected SARS patient, a 20-year-old waitress, was also isolated in hospital on Saturday. Doctors say "she's doing relatively well".

The WHO team inspected the restaurant's dining rooms and kitchens where she worked, but have yet to find any clues as to the origins of the disease.

WHO officials held an open day in Guangdong Province on Sunday. They answered the public's questions about SARS, put up posters and handed out leaflets with information on the virus.

SARS is believed to be spread by droplets in coughs and sneezes. It has no specific cure but doctors worldwide treat it with ribavirin, an anti-viral drug, and steroids.

As of yesterday, there have been no new reported SARS or suspected SARS cases on the Chinese mainland.

Editor:Su  Source:CCTV.com