Two More Patients Suspected of SARS Found

Two more patients suspected of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) are found in the country on April 18. As SARS is being widely spread in Beijing, China, the Korean epidemics authorities are anxious that about fifteen thousand Korean students in Beijing are expected to come back to Korea.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that the number of suspected patients so far is six people including the patients who already went back home and two new patients suspected of SARS. As of April 18, total number of the patients suspected of SARS who are in hospital is four.

NIH said that the woman in her twenties from Beijing and the man in his thirties from Gwangdong, China, had symptoms of high fever over 38 degrees and cough are immediately isolated and hospitalized right after arriving at the Incheon International Airport.

NIH announced that they were isolated as patients suspected of SARS because they had been in the contaminated areas and had similar symptoms of SARS such as high fever and cough.

The woman had written that she had had high fever and cough in the inspection questionnaire for entry and the man had asked for help because of high fever in the airplane. The man turned out to have mainly the symptoms of bronchial trouble.

NIH is trying to reach by phone to the flight attendants and two hundreds and sixty-five of the passengers whether they have any symptoms or not. And they say that no clear symptoms of SARS are found yet.

The Chinese Department of Education is considering of closing some Universities in Beijing for the first time since Tyenanmeon democratization movement in 1989. As such, Korean students in Beijing are expected to come back to Korea.

And NIH says that there is no justification to forbid them to come back to Korea. So NIH is considering reinforcement of isolations measures and some other methods for the comers from those areas who have the symptoms.

Jin Lee leej@donga.com