CHINA reports SARS case

By Jehangir Pocha, Globe Correspondent

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities yesterday reported a new suspected case of the highly contagious and potentially fatal disease SARS, the first since an outbreak was contained last summer. A second suspected case in Anhui, an eastern province, was reported by officials in Hong Kong, according to the Associated Press.

In the Beijing case, the patient is a 20-year-old nurse who has been quarantined and is under treatment, officials said. Five other people, including two relatives, who had close contact with her and who are exhibiting SARS-like symptoms, are also being treaded in isolation wards. Another 171 people are under observation.

''We are concerned, but not overwrought," said Bob Dietz, a spokesman for the World Health Organization in Beijing, who added that there is no evidence to suggest another widespread outbreak of the disease. ''The case was spotted pretty quickly, isolated, and treatment was begun."

According to the Ministry of Health, the nurse, who is being identified only as Ms. Li, developed flulike symptoms on April 5. Two days later she checked herself into the Beijing Jiangong Hospital where she works. When her condition failed to improve she transferred to the elite Beijing University Hospital on April 14. But it was only on April 19, when two relatives accompanying her also developed fever and a dry cough that they were all tested for SARS.

Hong Kong authorities reported the second suspected case in Anhui, but it was unclear why the Beijing government had only mentioned the nurse's illness in its announcement last night.

This is the second time China has reported a potentially new outbreak of SARS since the mysterious disease, which first emerged in late 2002, disappeared last July. Chinese health officials were heavily criticized then for withholding information about suspected cases but have since pledged to be more open with information.

Four SARS cases were reported in the southern province of Guangdong in December and January. All four patients recovered and timely action by Chinese health authorities and WHO officials prevented any spread of the disease.

''Our general feeling is that China is pretty much playing it by the rules and playing it right," Dietz said. ''The surveillance system is working well [and] when they had the test results they told us and told the world right up front."

But authorities are not saying how they suspect Ms. Li contracted the disease.

It is generally believed that the virus that causes SARS originates in civet cats and other ferretlike animals such as raccoons and badgers. The animals are widely eaten in southern China, where it is believed that consumption can increase sexual vitality and overall vigor. Scientists say the process of raising and slaughtering the animals could cause the corona virus to jump into humans.

In January, after the Guangdong cases had been confirmed, China's health authorities had ordered the killing of more than 10,000 civet cats and ordered the closure of all markets that sell such animals.

SARS is known to spread quickly and easily, especially among the elderly. During the last outbreak more than 8,000 people contracted the flulike illness, resulting in 774 deaths worldwide - 349 of them in mainland China.

There is concern about a possible new SARS outbreak during the coming May Day holidays, when hundreds of millions of people are expected to crisscross China as they visit friends and family. But Dietz said ''we're not seeing a need for travel advisories or anything at this point. There's no need for this sort of paranoia."

Deepak Bhattasali, the World Bank's chief economist in Beijing, estimated that SARS-related economic losses touched reached $60 billion in China last year. The crisis also tested the Chinese public's faith in its leaders, who frequently use the promise of good governance to justify their authoritarian rule.

''That was the worst time of my life and business," Luo Chan, a restaurant owner in Beijing, said of the SARS crisis. ''I hope those days never come back."