WHO Cautions against Travel to Guangdong Province and Hong Kong

As the fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is spreading quickly throughout Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against travel to Guangdong Province in China and Hong Kong, where the first cases of this illness occurred.

This is the first time that the WHO asked for restraint of travel to a specific area because of an epidemic. The WHO declared these areas dangerous to travel after deciding that the mysterious illness is spreading by air-travelers.

Governments in Asia and Europe are implementing stricter quarantine measures on travelers from Hong Kong and China while they are asking their people to restrain themselves from traveling to East Asian nations.

As a patient has shown SARS symptoms in Shanghai, China`s State Council held a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, to devise measures for the prevention and eradication of the illness on April 2.

"The Chinese government, which had not allowed our investigation team to visit Guangdong Province, started to be cooperative," a WHO investigation team said after arriving in the province on Thursday to probe the infection route.

The same day, the Japanese government cautioned its people against trip to Guangdong Province and Hong Kong.

Most of Japanese companies are banning business trips to these areas or are preparing measures to help their resident workers in these areas return home.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed to a new corona virus as the possible cause on April 2. However, China`s center for disease control and prevention said that the possible cause is not corona virus but a germ that has features of both bacteria and virus.

Hye-Yoon Park parkhyey@donga.com