BBC 1/10/04: China pursues anti-Sars slaughter

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BBC DAILY E-MAIL: UK EDITION

Saturday, 10 January, 2004, 09:00 GMT 01:00 US/Pacific

 

* China pursues anti-Sars slaughter *

Doctors investigate a restaurant in southern

China for clues to a suspected Sars case, amid a

mass cull of edible animals.

Full story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3381645.stm

 

 

 

The WHO has urged caution over the cull of civet cats

 

China pursues anti-Sars slaughter

World Health Organization doctors have searched a

restaurant in China to see if a waitress

suspected of having Sars could have caught the

virus there.

 

The WHO said it was taking the case of the

20-year-old seriously, but had yet to see any

sign that an epidemic of Sars was about to sweep

the region.

 

The move came as a deadline passed for a cull of

all animals that might carry the Sars virus in

Guangdong Province.

 

On Monday, China confirmed its first Sars case since last summer's outbreak.

 

That patient recovered and left hospital on

Thursday, but his case sparked fears of a repeat

of the epidemic that infected more than 8,000

people around the world.

 

Chinese authorities said a gene sample from the

man resembled that of a coronavirus found in

civets, a local delicacy.

 

WHO spokesman Roy Wadia told Reuters news agency

that the restaurant where the waitress worked did

have civet cat on the menu.

 

Doctors have urged the authorities to send

samples from the woman - who has been in stable

condition without fever for more than a week -

for testing in Beijing and in WHO facilities

abroad.

 

'Four dangers'

 

Meanwhile, thousands of civet cats have been

killed so far, mostly by drowning, electrocution

and incineration. An estimated 10,000 are

expected to be culled in total.

 

The cull has been extended to badgers, raccoon

dogs and other animals served as local delicacies.

 

Officials are threatening animal traders with

fines of up to $12,000 for failing to cull civet

cats - whose meat fetches up to $22 a kilogram.

 

The authorities have also called for the

slaughter of rats, cockroaches, flies and

mosquitoes, known as the " four dangers " .

 

In Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province,

red banners are calling for better hygiene.

 

A WHO spokesman said there was anecdotal evidence

that some civets were being clubbed to death,

which he said potentially put those involved in

the cull at risk.

 

 

'Plan of attack'

 

The WHO delegation in Guangdong has promised to leave no stone unturned.

 

I do not think the confirmed case means that Sars will return on a large scale

Zhong Nanshan

Guangzhou Respiratory Illness Research Institute

" What we're mostly interested in are the

possibilities of animal-to-animal and then

animal-to-human exposure, person-to-person

exposure, " team leader Robert Breiman said.

 

" And then we're interested in the possibility

that it might be an environmental type of

exposure, and we're beginning to work out the

plan of how to attack those areas individually. "

 

The WHO has warned there could be a number of

suspected Sars cases in the coming months because

of its resemblance to other winter illnesses.

 

Three Hong Kong journalists who fell ill with

fevers and coughs after visiting Guangzhou have

all tested negative for Sars, Hong Kong health

officials said.

 

Zhong Nanshan, head of the Guangzhou Respiratory

Illness Research Institute, said there was

unlikely to be a fresh outbreak.

 

" To say it [the confirmed case] will trigger the

huge spread of Sars is absurd, " he said.

 

The Sars virus spread from China last year and

caused a global health crisis, killing round 800

people and infecting about 8,000.

 

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3381645.stm

 

Published: 2004/01/10 07:47:37 GMT

 

© BBC MMIV

 

 

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