WHO findings suggest SARS linked to animals

cctv.com 01-17-2004 09:30

World Health Organization investigators have found evidence to link animals with SARS. They have found traces of the virus in the restaurant where a suspected SARS patient worked and civet dishes were served.

Delivering an update in the southern city of Guangzhou, the leader of the WHO team said animals such as civets are a reservoir for the disease. He says it's also possible that rodents play a role in its spread.

But the WHO also added SARS should not be considered an immediate public health threat in China. This provides some reassurance for the millions of people traveling around the country for Spring Festival.

The WHO team has been in Guangzhou all week, taking and examining samples collected from patients as well as the restaurant and local wild animal markets.

One confirmed SARS case and two suspected have appeared in the southern Chinese province over the past month. WHO experts are still waiting for laboratory results on the two suspected cases. But the director of the No. 8 People's Hospital says the two may be discharged within a week.

Editor:Zhang  Source:CCTV.com