WHO lifts travel warning, civets likely SARS source

WHO lifts travel warning, civets likely SARS source

Carrie Lee, Reuters, Hong Kong/Taipei

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday withdrew its
warning against travel to Hong Kong and the southern Chinese
province of Guangdong, saying the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) outbreaks there were under control.

And a top Hong Kong scientist said it was likely that
SARS, which has killed nearly 700 people and infected more than
8,000 worldwide, jumped to humans from civet cats, considered a
delicacy in southern China.

Despite the fact that Hong Kong is still the second most
affected SARS area outside mainland China, WHO said the rate of
daily infections and the number of outstanding cases had dropped
to within limits set for travel alerts.

The decision to remove the travel advisory, issued on April 2,
was a huge relief for Hong Kong, a former British colony where
the trade-reliant economy has suffered severely.

The lifting of the travel alert came as Hong Kong announced
two more SARS deaths but only two fresh cases.

The UN health agency also lifted its advisory against
neighboring Guangdong province, where the new disease is believed
to have emerged in November before being spread around the world
by travelers.

The illness, fatal in about 15 percent of cases, is caused by
a virus linked to the common cold and has no standard treatment.
It is spread by coughing, sneezing or touching infected objects.
Symptoms include a fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.

The WHO said that while the spread of the lethal flu-like
virus on Taiwan was "worrisome", as the island reported 55 new
cases on Friday, it did not suggest "an explosive escalation".

The new infections in Taiwan took the number of probable SARS
cases there to 538, behind only China and Hong Kong, and followed
a record daily increase of 65 cases on Thursday.

"While the daily numbers of new cases indicate the size of the
SARS outbreak in Taiwan, which is worrisome, they do not suggest
an explosive escalation in the number of cases, as both older and
new cases are being reported together on a daily basis," the WHO
said in a statement published on its Web site.

An American physician from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, who was helping Taiwan battle SARS, was
airlifted to the United States after he went down with SARS-like
symptoms including a fever and muscle pain.

China reported three more deaths and another 20 infections in
the 24 hours to 0200 GMT (9:00 a.m.) on Friday, taking its totals
to 303 deaths and 5,285 cases.

Canada was investigating four possible cases, a week after it
was declared SARS-free, in a grim reminder of the resilience of a
disease for which there is no vaccine or standard treatment.

Civet cats have huge amounts of the virus in their stool and
respiratory secretions, but are unaffected, Yuen Kwok-yung, head
of the University of Hong Hong's microbiology department, said
after releasing results of a study into the source of SARS.

The finding may help prevent another such epidemic through
more hygienic methods of farming and slaughter, he said.

Southern Chinese enjoy eating wild game, including civet cats
and endangered animals, but such practices may help animal
viruses jump the species barrier to humans, scientists say.

Hong Kong reacted euphorically to the lifting of the travel
advisory, although few expected a quick rebound in confidence.

Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa said that in celebrating the
result, the city should remember three medical staff who were
among 260 patients who had died of SARS in the city, and had
given their lives in the war against the virus.

"We should treasure this result" he said.

Business reaction was immediate.

"Good news. Good news. They finally did the right thing," said
James Lu, executive director of the Hong Kong Hotels Association,
one of the worst hit areas of the economy after tourists
disappeared, fearing they could catch SARS.

"But that's only step one. It will take a month or two for
people to start coming back," he said.

Airlines, hotels, restaurants and retailers have been
devastated by outbreaks of the virus in parts of Asia and
investment banks have reduced forecasts for economic growth in
SARS-hit areas such as Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

The WHO said it wanted US$200 million to help developing
countries fight the virus, half of it for China.

Health officials fear SARS could become more lethal if it
erupted in Africa where countries are already ravaged by AIDS.