JP/4/sars

JP/4/sars

British SARS patient disappears after hospital release

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Authorities are looking for a British man who has been identified as a probable Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) case, who was told to stay home for 14 days, but disappeared on Friday.

An official with the government SARS investigating team said the Briton was released from the hospital quarantine last Wednesday, however he might have SARS.

"We're doing our utmost to monitor the British man," said team member Azimal who is in charge of tracking him down.

The investigating team is in charge of monitoring SARS suspects, their movements and contacts with other persons.

The 47-year-old British citizen, whose name was not given, is Indonesia's first recorded probable case of SARS.

He had traveled to two SARS affected countries, Hong Kong and Singapore, before arriving in Indonesia, where he fell ill with SARS-like symptoms. The man's chest X-ray also showed indications of pneumonia. This made him a probable SARS case according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition.

The Briton was put under hospital quarantine on April 9.

Azimal said doctors released him after his health appeared to have improved. But they told him to stay at home for 14 more days to be absolutely sure he was disease free, he added.

It was not clear whether the hospital had determined whether he actually had SARS as no samples from the patient had been sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

During the period, the investigating team was to keep monitoring his health. But when they came to his house on Friday, the Briton had left, he said.

It was not clear why he had not followed instructions to stay at home. There was no sign of him as of Friday afternoon.

Another team member, who declined to be named, said he had notified officials at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport about the man's disappearance.

So far, the airport has not found his name on any passenger lists, he said.

The British national works for a textile company in Tanggerang. He was admitted to the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Jakarta after he developed flu-like symptoms resembling SARS.

Azimal had described the Briton as "uncooperative" earlier, but he did not elaborate.

Under Law No. 4/1984 on epidemic diseases, persons found guilty of obstructing government' efforts to curb an epidemic could face a one-year prison sentence. The government invoked the law early this month to cope with the SARS threat.

Since SARS was first detected in Guangdong province of China, the disease has spread worldwide, killing more than 160 people and infecting over 3,500.

Despite Indonesia's vicinity to SARS affected countries, the country has yet to report a confirmed case of SARS.

A batch of seven blood samples from reported SARS patients came up negative following a test at the Center for Diseases and Prevention Control in Atlanta in the United States, a government official said.

More samples would be sent to Atlanta soon, said Sumaryati Aryoso who heads the Ministry of Health's research and development office.

Azimal further said that the government had issued guidelines to tackle SARS, outlining procedures to deal with possible SARS cases in airports, hospitals, laboratories, and in public places.

"The guidelines have been distributed to all health clinics, airports and relevant institutions," he said.